Of Murderers and Thieves
by Lightfalls
Summary: When the Dragonborn is recruited into the Dark Brotherhood followed by the Thieves Guild, she never expected to fall for two of Skyrim's most accomplished criminals. But what happens when you get three powerful and dangerous women fighting for each other's affections? F!Dragonborn x Astrid x Vex. Contains dark/mature themes and violence.
1. Innocence Lost

**Innocence Lost**

**Chapter 1: Innocence Lost**

_13 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

Not this house.

And not this one.

She should have known. It was stupid to come to the Gray Quarter. These dilapidated houses would hold nothing of value, nothing worth risking breaking into for. She sighed and turned on her heel to head back the way she came. Unless…

Her head whipped round to the one residence she had not passed yet. In fact, it was in the middle of the city yet she had somehow missed it. She kicked herself mentally. Why was it she could never remember the layout of this city? The high stone walls, the narrow passageways and the ever-present cold and gloom of Windhelm made this one of Noela's least favourite places to visit. But she had heard whispers from the mouths of passing travellers that there was much to be had in the houses of Windhelm. And so, she had come to see for herself.

Ever since she had defeated Alduin more than a year prior, Noela had surely but gradually drifted back to her old life, her life of creatively sourcing stolen goods to barter off in exchange for an increasingly growing pile of gold. Helping the citizens of Skyrim was good, sure, and for some time she had found satisfaction in retrieving lost items and reuniting estranged lovers. But still, there was something more she craved.

Perhaps it was gold, she did not know herself. Yet she lived in a modest and none-too-extraordinary house in Whiterun and felt no need for more. She did not need more things. The accumulated mountain of septims in her room just sat there, untouched and unloved, lest she return with even more to sprinkle over the top.

No, it was not the coin she was after. Rather, her fortune was the by-product of her activities. Her payment for the act itself. Acts of the illegal sort, that made her heart pump fast and set her soul ablaze as she struggled to evade authorities and the people unfortunate enough to be her targets.

Yet she couldn't help it. Her life had always been that of a criminal. Becoming the Dragonborn was certainly a nice change of pace in the moral arena, and it had served as a new purpose to fill the void of the life she otherwise lived. She had no qualms with helping people, but it wasn't something she was partial to either. She was simply doing what made her happy, as much as many man or mer.

Noela stretched her back. Sometimes creeping around was exhausting. Not to mention the dim light of the night environment did not agree with her eyes. She squinted at the house that had caught her attention and sticking to the shadows, made her way across the stone-covered street toward it.

She wasn't sure who lived here. It was probably written on her map, but she didn't feel like getting it out and using Magelight or Candlelight to read it would just attract unwanted attention. Gazing up, she marvelled at the unique structure. The house was literally built over the road like a bridge, except it also extended along either side of it where its walls met the ground. It resembled something of an eagle overlooking its prey from above and gave the residence a certain grandiose magnificence.

Undoubtedly, it would hold something of value.

She then spotted the front door on the left, hidden well in shadow beneath the eaves, and stopped to think. Normally she wasn't so bold as to break in without at least scouting a little more, or searching for more information on its inhabitants and what treasures they might possess that she could lift. She adjusted her hood and looked around her for people or guards, but not a soul was in sight.

It had been too long, weeks, since her last 'job'. Fingers itching in restlessness, she fumbled in her pocket for a lockpick and began working the mechanism in the door that would allow her access.

The lock yielded with a soft click. Slowly opening the door, Noela crept inside and shut it with practiced silence. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimly lit interior of the residence. Before her were a flight of wooden stairs that led to the rest of the house. At the top of the stairs a soft glow of light emanated from another room within.

Dropping into a sneak, she tiptoed up the stairs, hands ready to cast a spell if needed. As she neared the top of the stairs, she made out the room beyond to be some sort of combined living and sleeping space. It was then that she heard movement.

Noela froze. In the next second, she had her hand in the front pocket of her robes and fished out the invisibility potion she always kept there. Just as she was deciding on whether or not it was necessary to waste it, she heard someone draw breath and begin to mutter words, low and urgent. Almost simultaneously, she heard repeated strikes on wood accompanied by a weird squelching sound.

The voice sounded like it belonged to a child, a young boy if she had to guess. She couldn't make out the words from this distance, but the person in question was most likely in a room off the main one she now occupied. Making a quick decision to stay rather than leave, she downed the potion in one gulp.

Almost as soon as the viscous liquid passed through to her esophagus, she felt a familiar fuzzy sensation and her body disappeared. Now hidden by the veil of the potion and muffled by the enchantments in her boots, she was undetectable, invisible and silent.

Straightening up somewhat and walking comfortably toward the source of the voice, she began to make out words.

_Sweet mother, sweet mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptised in blood and fear._

The young voice then took a breath and repeated the line, the sound of strikes continuing along with it. A few steps further and she saw a door frame leading to an alcove beyond. And what she saw as her line of sight became clear of any walls or obstacles made her heart stop.

It was indeed a boy, probably around ten years of age with short, brown, cropped hair. He was kneeling in what appeared to be a circular configuration of candles, though the candles formed more of a three-quarter circle with an incomplete side. What lay within the circle though was something of horrors. Noela was no stranger to dead bodies and human parts, she had seen plenty of that throughout her adventures. But what lay there, the target of the boy's attention and aggression, was a skeleton of human bones, a heart and flesh. Within his hand he held a foot-long blade wrapped in purple petals from what she suspected was a Nightshade plant. An open book lay on the floor beside him.

Noela observed the scene before her, steadying her breath. This was no doubt some kind of dark ritual of malicious intent. Droplets of sweat were visible beneath the boy's hairline as he continued uttering the same sentence over and over and driving his knife into the remains before pulling it back out again. As she continued watching with curiosity it became apparent that he was waiting for something to happen. With each iteration of the chant he grew slightly more impatient, driving his knife more forcefully into the long dead heart. When at last he stopped, he looked up to the entrance of the small room where she stood and his eyes widened.

Noela frowned at his expression; surely he could not see her in her currently invisible state? It was then she noticed with a horrible jolt of her stomach that the black fabric of her torso was visible in the lower portion of her peripheral vision. The potion had worn off and she had not even realised. That was incredibly stupid, the potion lasted for a good thirty seconds and she was so engrossed in watching the boy she had completely lost track of time.

Berating herself for making such a dangerous mistake, she prepared a small ball of magical fire within each palm in case a fight were to ensue. The boy stood and she watched with great caution as he turned to face her. And then suddenly, his face broke into a wide grin.

"It worked!" he exclaimed in unmistakable excitement. "I knew you'd come, I just knew it! I did the Black Sacrament over and over. With the body and, the things." He gestured to the assortment of grisly items by his feet. "And then you came! An assassin from the Dark Brotherhood."

Noela blinked at the boy, wondering what in Oblivion he was talking about.

When she failed to respond, he continued. "You don't have to say anything, there's no need," he said, smiling up at her. "You're here, so I know you'll accept my contract."

"Contract?" She finally found herself speaking.

The boy's expression turned crestfallen. "My mother, she died. I'm all alone now, so they sent me to that terrible orphanage in Riften—Honorhall." Noela inclined her head ever so slightly. She knew of that orphanage, having visited Riften a number of times, though had never set foot within it herself. The boy went on, "The headmistress is an evil, cruel woman. They call her Grelod the Kind, but she's not kind, she's terrible, to all of us. So I ran away and came home and performed the Black Sacrament". Triumph then returned to his features. "Now you're here, and you can kill Grelod the Kind!"

"Kill Grelod? The Kind?" Noela repeated slowly. The name seemed familiar, she was sure she had heard of it before. She then shook her head, trying to work out exactly what he was telling her. "What are you saying boy, you want a woman murdered? This Grelod… Are you insane? You sure you know what you're asking?"

She eyed him with incredulity. She had no idea if he was indeed serious, or just plain mad. The boy nodded earnestly. "Yes, I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life. Someone like Grelod doesn't deserve to live one more day. She's a monster," he stated with clear loathing.

Noela took a breath and began to sort through all the information she was hearing. This boy thought she was from the Dark Brotherhood, a cult of assassins who in fact had sent one of their number after her in the past, during her Dragonborn days. Apparently someone had wanted her dead, though she had no idea who that may have been. The Dragonborn had many enemies, it could have been virtually anyone and she would likely never find out. The young assassin had been easy enough for Lydia and herself to take out though, and since then she was fortunate enough to have never had the pleasure of crossing paths with one of the red and black-clad foes again.

She had also heard about the Black Sacrament. To most it was a rumour more than anything and she barely knew a thing about it, except that it was used to summon the Dark Brotherhood. The details of the Black Sacrament, let alone witnessing the ritual performed in person, was not something that had ever occurred to her to find out about, much less expected to see.

Yet now she stood here, mistaken for one of the elusive killers, with a boy's happiness on the line. Not that she particularly cared. A child's happiness wasn't any kind of responsibility she willingly took upon herself; there was no point in shouldering other people's troubles when she could find better things to do with her time.

But still, there was something curious about the boy. A part of her liked him for his gall in soliciting aid from the Dark Brotherhood. That was brave enough for a person of maturity to attempt, but a child? He was something else. Whoever had said that children were innocent was severely mistaken.

A child asking for someone to be murdered, it was disturbing, and messed up, and even a tad… fascinating. If he was serious, and he certainly seemed so, then she might just investigate the matter. She had to admit the situation had greatly aroused her interest. She wanted to meet this Grelod, to see if this boy's claims held true. Just what did Grelod do to cause such an intense hate in a child as young as he that he would go so far as to wish death upon her?

She knew it was not her place to meddle in such matters. This was a matter for the Dark Brotherhood and its agents to contend with. But now that she had come across this peculiar situation, she couldn't walk away. She wanted to know, to find out why this kid wanted this woman dead. Otherwise it would swim in her mind for Divines knows how long and if there was one thing she hated, it was unsolved mysteries.

She looked at the boy and sighed heavily; she would surely regret this. "Alright, I'll go to Honorhall and pay this Grelod of yours a visit." The boy instantly brightened and began to open his mouth to thank her. "And what is your name, boy?"

"Aventus Aretino," the child replied enthusiastically. "Thank you, and please hurry. To be honest, I'm kind of lonely here. As much as I hated getting sent to Honorhall, I really miss my friends there".

Noela nodded. "Sit tight Aventus, I'll be back soon."

Aventus smiled and she turned to leave before he remembered something. "Oh, and please don't kill Constance Michel. She really is kind."

She acknowledged his request with a wave and departed the residence.

* * *

_15 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

The sound of boots crunching on the gravel path beneath her feet filled her ears. Up ahead, Noela could see the familiar gates of Riften. She had just passed the stables on her right, and was brought back to the one and only time she had been here previously.

The first time, the Riften guard had stopped Lydia and her from entering the city, demanding a 'visitor's tax' be paid. That was when they had come to find the old man named Esbern, one of the last remaining Blades at the time.

It seemed like so long ago, though it was probably just under two years since she'd undertaken that task. Noela remembered completing her 'arrangement' with Brynjolf, the Nord man with red hair who was from the Thieves Guild that lived in the sewers beneath the city. She had successfully framed one of the marketplace merchants at his request in order to gain information on Esbern's whereabouts.

She and Lydia had then fought through the Ratway, finding themselves in the tavern called The Ragged Flagon. Even though it wasn't spelled out, she knew that the people occupying it were thieves, and when she met Brynjolf again in the Flagon he had offered her membership as part of the Guild.

But, as tempted as she was to take it, Lydia had reminded her in earnest that they had a task to complete. The woman had literally shaken her shoulders in front of everyone in the tavern and yelled in her face that this was not the time to get side-tracked.

And so, Noela had politely refused, as Lydia did have a point—saving the world did have a much higher priority. Though she reminded herself that it was probably more to do with the fact that it was an illegal organisation and, Lydia being Lydia, would always be against anything that was even the slightest bit morally corrupt.

Noela was brought out of her thoughts as she approached the city gates. The guard outside once again asked her to pay visitor's tax, but she simply mentioned she knew Brynjolf, and he let her in.

Riften was blanketed with a layer of fog, the same as last time she had visited. It was around noon, judging from the position of the sun through the haze. She walked down the main street of the city, keeping her hood up. It wouldn't do to have someone see her face, seeing as what she was about to do.

Truthfully though, Noela hadn't decided what to do once she found the orphanage. She supposed she would just do a little investigating for now, to see what the fuss was about.

It took her a while, and after about a half hour of roaming about the city Noela located Honorhall Orphanage in the southwestern corner and adjacent to Mistveil Keep.

She observed for a moment the carved letters above the main door, wondering what she would find inside. And, finding the door unlocked, she slipped into the building.

The first thing she was met with was an empty room. Through the open doorway ahead, she could see a wooden dining table and bench seats in the next room. Even though the door had been unlocked, she was sure she wasn't supposed to be in here. So, she assumed sneak position and crept along the wall.

She could hear an old woman's voice and peered around the next doorway to her left to where it was coming from.

There, she saw an elderly woman with four children standing around her. They were in a sleeping area and Noela counted five beds which were placed along the walls. The woman was a Nord with a long face, her arms crossed and an expression of utter distaste on her features.

"Those who shirk their duties will get an extra beating. Do I make myself clear?" the old woman reprimanded the children.

A chorus of "Yes, Grelod!" followed.

"And one more thing! I will hear no more talk of adoptions! None of you riff-raff is getting adopted. Nobody needs you, nobody wants you. That, my darlings, is why you're here. Why you'll always be here, until you come of age and get thrown into that wide, horrible world. Now, what do you all say?"

The children responded in a unified, unnatural recitation of, "We love you, Grelod. Thank you for your kindness," that was so mechanical it made Noela cringe.

It was clear that Grelod was called 'The Kind' for none other than that she appeared the exact opposite. Noela then saw one of the children, the girl, begin to walk her way and she quickly decided whether or not she wanted to be seen. There were only three invisibility potions left in her pouch and she did not feel like wasting another. She straightened up as the girl strolled into the room.

The girl had dusty brown hair formed into braids on the sides of her head. Upon seeing Noela, the girl spoke. "I hate it here! Grelod the Kind is the meanest person in all of Skyrim."

Noela, surprised at the outburst and that she was not being kicked out for being on the premises, replied, "Oh? Why do you hate her?"

The girl shook her fists. "Everyone hates her. She's the meanest person I ever met. Sometimes she locks us in the… room. Constance tries to stop her, and is real good to us, but it's never enough."

The girl was angry and her voice was raised. Noela quickly peered around the corner to see if anyone in the next room had heard her but the boys were busy conversing and Grelod was nowhere to be seen.

"Room… What room?" Noela brought her attention back to the girl.

The girl pointed through the shared bedroom to another closed door on the opposite side. "That room."

The girl turned to leave but Noela wasn't done. "Who is Aventus?" she asked. After all, she had to make sure the boy was actually from this orphanage.

"A little boy who lived here. He was nice but really quiet, and sad, because his mother just died. He ran away back home to Windhelm." She then lowered her voice some and whispered to Noela. "Samuel told me he's trying to get some murderer people to come here and kill Grelod."

Noela just stared at her. So, it was all true.

It was what the girl said next that sent chills up Noela's spine. "I really hope he does." And with a somewhat sadistic grin, she left.

Noela stood and stared for a second at the spot the girl had occupied. She shook her head. There was something seriously wrong here. She had never in her days come across a child that prayed for murder, let alone two. She headed for the three boys in the bedroom.

They saw her and turned to watch as she approached. Randomly selecting the blond one, she said, "Tell me about Grelod the Kind".

The boy hesitated, most likely taken by surprise at the direct request of the stranger before him. "Miss Grelod is—well, she's a terrible old crone. No person could be that cruel." The other boys nodded. "I think she's part hagraven. She only lets us out in the yard once, in the morning. And she just stands there watching us."

There were mutters of agreement from the other two boys and Noela thanked him for talking to her. They went off to where the other girl was in the dining area and Noela turned to the doors that the little girl had indicated earlier. Wondering what she would find inside, she opened the doors, stepped in, and shut them quietly behind her.

It was a small room, more akin to a closet. Noela then gasped. Lining the walls on either side were four shackles. There were also two buckets, one tipped over, the other still standing and almost full to the brim with piss. Thin patches of damp straw littered the floor.

This was, beyond doubt, a torture room. Noela suddenly felt nauseous as she imagined the old hag chaining the kids up in here, beating them and leaving them for hours or possibly days to stand on the urine-soaked floor. She felt sick rise up in her throat and quickly returned to the bedroom.

With the smell greatly reduced though she could still smell a bit from the gap under the door, she deliberated.

It wasn't something she was likely to admit aloud to anyone anytime soon, but she did feel sort of bad for the kids. _Sort of_.

So, what was she going to do about it?

Noela crept to the other set of closed doors and listened for a moment. This must be Grelod's room, she could hear the old woman speaking or rather, reading from a book, inside.

She then made an impulse decision that would forever change her life.

She too, wanted this Grelod dead, if not for the kids, then for her own satisfaction. The world was a rotten place, and though she harboured no dreams to change it—in fact, she wasn't stupid enough to believe it was possible, then at least she knew she was ridding the world of one less evil. She was going to give it to the woman.

Noela opened the door.

Grelod was sitting on a chair opposite a double bed. Noela closed the door with a snap, causing the woman to cease her reading and look up at the intruder.

"Yes?" the crone croaked. "What do you want? You have no business being in here."

Noela remained passive. "Aventus Aretino says hello."

She watched the old woman's reaction with amusement. "Aretino? Why that little bastard! You tell him I'm coming for him! And when I find him, it will be the beating of his miserable life!"

"So you admit it?" Noela interrogated. "You beat the kids, _torture_ them?"

Grelod sat back and rearranged her features into a horrible, wicked smile. "They need to be punished! How else will they learn how to survive in this cruel, wretched world?"

Noela had to admit Grelod had a point, but only regarding her worldview. As for the other thing—"You have no right, you old hag," she spat at the older woman.

"It's my orphanage, I can do whatever I want with the little brats! No one will love them, no one ever will, and without me they'd be dead on the streets!"

Noela shook her head. "I hear Constance will treat them well. At least I hope so, after I'm done with you." She let a thin and long shard of ice begin materialising in her right hand.

Grelod's eyes widened at the magic. "What are you—"

"The Dark Brotherhood has come for you, Grelod," Noela declared, and with a burst of magicka within her body forced the icicle to shoot out and pierce Grelod directly in the heart.

The elderly woman glared at the mage as the anger, then life, faded from her eyes. Noela watched with satisfaction when at last the body slumped off the chair and to the floor.


	2. With Friends Like These

**With Friends Like These…**

**Chapter 2: With Friends Like These…**

Escaping the orphanage was easy enough. In fact, Noela had simply closed Grelod's door after the deed was done and walked out. The children and Constance were eating lunch at the table, and only saw her as she passed them and left. She had not spoken a word to them, and decided it was probably wise to get out of the city as fast as she could before anyone discovered the body.

Once outside the orphanage, she made a beeline for Riften's main gate. The wooden boardwalks creaked beneath her feet and twice she nearly tripped due to the fast, barely-manageable walking pace she used.

She was panicking, yes, and tried to calm her furiously beating heart. Deep breaths, in and out. The mist had now cleared and it was a sunny afternoon in Riften. It was a beautiful day, and part of her wished she could've stayed to explore the city; she hadn't had a chance to last time.

But, now was not the time. The residents of the orphanage knew what she looked like, and it could be minutes before they alerted the guard.

_If _they alerted the guard.

Noela began to slow down as the thought crossed her mind. She had not talked to Constance, but since practically all the children had wished for Grelod's death…

Still, it was not a risk she was willing to take. Whether they reported it or not, Riften was not a safe place for her at the moment.

When at last she passed through the city gates, she set off at a run. She wanted to put as much distance between the city and herself as possible.

It was at least an hour later when Noela, panting with exhaustion, finally allowed herself to slow to a walk. She was on the route back to Windhelm so she could inform Aventus of the mission's success. She did not know what 'reward' she would receive, but she had never planned on following his request anyway. Still, she had to at least tell him that Grelod was dead so he didn't have to remain lonely at that house. That he could now return to the orphanage and see his friends again.

Noela breathed out heavily. The adrenaline of the past couple of hours was beginning to wear off and she no longer feared being caught. She was quite far from Riften now and was sure the guard would not be able to track her down if they were in fact pursuing her, which she doubted. Still, she might have incurred a bounty on her head but with no need to return to Riften in the near future, it was nothing to be concerned about.

The day was slowly beginning to shift to evening and Noela watched the pine trees that grew in this warmer, temperate climate pass her as the sound of her footfalls on dirt lulled her into her thoughts.

Grelod the Kind was dead. Slain, by Noela's own hand. Not that the old bag didn't deserve it. In fact, Noela thought that someone should have been sent to kill her a long time ago. A horrible human being living up to that ripe old age was a crime in itself. Noela was glad she had ended that wretch's life.

And yet… This was the first time Noela had killed in cold blood. She had faced hundreds of battles in her lifetime and killed just as many, if not more, enemies. But those had been life-or-death situations; she had never actively sought out an ordinary citizen, much less an old, defenceless lady, to murder.

Noela held up her hands and gazed at them. Did that make her a murderer now? Was she actually, a horrible person? Not unlike Grelod herself?

Noela shook her head. There was no way she would be compared to someone like Grelod. Noela did not torture people, she had never hurt a child in her life. But murdering someone…

The issue of morality was not something she thought much about, though she knew the limits. Stealing was fine, you weren't harming anyone physically. Killing 'innocent' people though, that was definitely below even her.

Noela decided to make an exception on this one. Grelod was a bad person. Noela was helping the kids, after all. She was judging herself too harshly.

Still, she remembered the sight of life slipping from Grelod's eyes and when they went blank forever, knowing the woman would never harm anyone again made Noela's heart swell with something akin to happiness.

It was confusing, and she likely did not understand herself that well to know what she was truly feeling in those very seconds. She had never murdered before, after all.

She let her mind settle as her stomach gave a rumble and she decided to stop for a late lunch.

* * *

_17 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

It was evening when Noela arrived back in Windhelm. She headed directly for the Aretino Residence and upon knocking on the door, the young boy answered. She pushed herself into the house so they could talk without being overheard.

Aventus was waiting for her news with eager eyes. "Well? Grelod the Kind, is she, you know?"

Noela nodded. "Grelod the Kind is dead."

"Aha!" the boy exclaimed. "I knew you could do it! I just knew it!" He made a whooping motion and jumped up and down with glee and Noela couldn't help but smile. "I knew the Dark Brotherhood would save me!" Aventus then ran up the stairs into the living room, and Noela followed curiously after him.

She saw him grab something off a dresser near the bed, and return to her. "Here, just like I promised." He shoved what appeared to be a silver metal plate under her nose and Noela peered at it, frowning. "This should fetch you a nice price. And thank you, thank you again."

"What's this?" she asked, taking the item.

"It's a family heirloom. Supposed to be sort of valuable. Is that alright?" Aventus asked, worry clear in his voice.

Noela smiled at him. "I accept it," she said and the boy sighed in relief. "You know," she continued, "You could go back to the orphanage now. With Grelod gone, things ought to be a lot better, especially if Constance comes to be the new headmistress. And you can see your friends again".

Aventus shook his head. "I'll go back to the orphanage in a while, I'll give them time to, you know, clean up the mess." He gave her a knowing grin.

Noela laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Alright. You take care, Aventus." She made for the door but the boy said one more thing that made her stop in her tracks.

"Someone else came here too, you know."

Noela spun around to face him, worry clouding her features. "Who?"

"Oh, another one of you, from the Dark Brotherhood," he replied casually.

"Is that so?"

Aventus nodded. "A lady in black and red, I figured she was one of your friends?" He looked questioningly at her, frowning at her sudden change in expression.

"Erm, yes, thanks for letting me know," she said.

"Anyway, I told her that one of you had already come, and she was alright with it and just left."

Noela nodded, thanking him for the information and waved goodbye, concern beginning to fill her mind.

* * *

It was late and Noela booked herself a room in Candlehearth Hall, the inn in Windhelm. She was exhausted after the few days of constant travel and just wanted to lie in a nice, warm bed. She was about to remove her boots and finally relax when a knock came on her door.

Noela sighed and tiredly dragged herself to open it. "Yes?" she asked impatiently.

It was an Imperial male, a courier. "I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver, your hands only." With that he handed her a sealed letter, and disappeared.

Noela gazed at the letter in her hand and closed the door. She tossed it on the bedside table and pulled off her boots and Master Robes, hanging the latter carefully on the chair beside the bed, and tucked herself under the covers.

She then proceeded to tear open the letter to see its contents. What she saw made her stomach lurch. A large, black handprint with the words 'We know' scrawled beneath took up almost the entire page.

Noela stared at it for a few long seconds as her fatigued mind willed itself to work. After about half a minute she knew beyond a doubt who it was from.

The Dark Brotherhood.

Putting the letter down and closing her eyes, she figured she would deal with it all tomorrow. She was too tired to think, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

_21 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

The first thing that Noela noticed when her mind began to stir awake was that there seemed to be a breeze going through her room. It made its way under the blankets and without anything on other than her smallclothes, she shivered. There was also sunlight coming into the room, she could see it through her closed eyelids. She tried to open them, but they were heavy. Surely, she hadn't slept so long that she was more tired now than before she had gone to sleep?

She tried to remember what had happened. Right—Aventus, Grelod, she was at Candlehearth Hall. But, she did not recognise the smell. Why did it smell like a forest in her room? She then heard a cough that awakened all her senses instantly.

Her eyes struggled to open. When she did manage to at last force her eyelids apart, everything was blurry. She felt completely dazed, her head heavy and aching. Her vision swam before her and she finally made out wooden boards that comprised the ceiling. Something was wrong. Was there someone in her room? And wasn't the ceiling supposed to be stone? Admittedly, she couldn't remember what the ceiling was made of, but everything in Windhelm was stone, so…

She willed with all her might for her body to move, and at last, after a few long seconds, she sat up in the bed and felt the blood pound in her head. What in Oblivion was this? It was worse than a hangover.

"Sleep well?"

Noela's heart jumped into her throat as she realised there was in fact someone in her room. Her eyes scanned the space in front of her and with a sick turn of her stomach, noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a wooden shack of some sort, and there in the corner, sitting atop a high wooden shelf, leg dangling over the side and leaning casually against the cabin wall, was a woman in red and black armour.

A Dark Brotherhood assassin.

With a start, Noela jumped up onto her feet on top of the bed itself, readying for a fight. But her head was spinning and she fell back down hard onto the mattress almost immediately, landing flat on her backside. The person in the corner chortled.

Noela glared with a combination of anger and fear and this time had the sense to stand on the floor. She shivered. It was cold now that she was out of the bed. She looked down at herself and discovered she wore nothing but undergarments. Where were her clothes?

She realised she was standing, near naked, in front of a complete stranger, but now was not the time to worry about that.

"Who are you?" she demanded of the assassin.

The woman seemed to stir to life. How long had she been watching her sleep? Wait, how long had she been out for, what day was it?

Questions buzzed around Noela's mind as the woman replied. "Who I am really isn't as important as what I am. And what I am is an admirer, of sorts." The woman had a low, enticing voice that reminded Noela of a predator luring in its dinner.

"What? Where am I? Who are you?" she requested impatiently. She was not in the mood for mind games and cryptic talk.

The woman narrowed her eyes. That was the only part of her Noela could actually see; the rest of her face was hidden beneath a cowl she wore. "Does it matter? You're warm, dry, and still very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod, hmm?"

At the mention of Grelod, Noela started and blurted, "You know about that?"

The assassin chuckled. "Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around." She was surprised at this news but continued to glare in silence. "Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticising, it was a good kill. Old crone had it coming, and you saved a group of urchins, to boot." The woman dipped her head in a sort of congratulations before pulling into a serious frown. "Ah, but there is a slight problem."

"A problem?"

The woman nodded. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me, and my associates. Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract. A kill that you stole. A kill you must repay."

Noela shook her head, trying to understand what the assassin was saying. "You want me to murder someone else? Who?"

The woman shifted on the shelf. "Well now, funny you should ask. If you turn around, you'll notice my guests," Noela quickly looked behind her and to her utter horror, saw three hostages at the other end of the shack, bound and on their knees with bags over their heads. "I've collected them from, well, that's not important, the here and now, that's what matters. You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that person can't leave this room alive. But which one?"

Noela stared in abhorrence at the additional three captives in the shack. The sight was disturbing and she was partly furious with herself that she had not noticed them before. And she had no clothes on. She only hoped they could not see through the executioner's hoods on their heads.

"Go on, see if you can figure it out," the assassin continued. "Make your choice, make your kill. I just want to observe, and admire."

Noela looked back at the Dark Brotherhood member with disbelief etched on her face. She wanted her to kill one of them? Without telling her which one was the target? Her fists clenched into tight balls of fury. This was disgusting, this was some sick game made up by an even sicker person. She couldn't believe she was caught up in this mess.

"I'll have no part of this insanity," Noela declared. She wasn't about to play the mind games of this madwoman.

"Now that is a shame. But what you fail to realise is that you involved yourself in this 'insanity' when you took Grelod's life. You made your choice. Now it's time to face the consequences of your actions. You don't leave this shack until someone dies."

Seething, Noela forced herself to think. What could she do? Could she actually get herself out of this? Did she have to murder another person, against her own will?

Or… she could fight. She could kill this deadly foe in front of her and escape and free the hostages, the same as any ordinary person would.

Noela concentrated within her body and tried to gauge her current condition. She was weakened, she was sure she had been drugged with some kind of poison and the reserves of her magicka were greatly depleted. There was nothing more than a trickle of magic within her body. She wondered if her Thu'um would work. Plus, she had no robes, no weapons and no potions to heal herself. Speaking of, where were her belongings?

"Where are my things?" she asked the woman.

"Outside. You won't be needing them," the woman replied coolly.

"How do you expect me to kill anyone, strangle them with my bare hands? I don't think I even have the strength to do that, what with whatever you fed me."

The woman laughed, a surprisingly pleasing sound in the alto register. Noela felt goose bumps rise on her arms. She shook off the peculiar feeling.

"Don't be ridiculous dear, use your magic, I'm sure you still have enough left in you."

Noela exhaled heavily, it seemed she wouldn't be able to get back anything that might help her fight and defeat this assassin. She had one last idea. "What about my clothes? Can I at least have those? I'm not really comfortable standing here in front of you, or them"—she waved at the hostages—"practically naked. I think I'd be able to do the job a lot better if I were clothed." It was a reasonable request and perhaps her captor would be kind enough to allow her her decency.

The assassin gave another low laugh. "Nice try, and I bet you would just love to have your enchanted robes back," she said which earned her a glower from the mage. "Oh, don't be mad, I'm actually enjoying the show."

She gave a suggestive wink and Noela felt her cheeks begin to heat up. She quickly brushed it away and crossed her arms over her chest. If she did not feel self-conscious before, she did now.

The woman noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry, they can't see anything through that cloth over their heads", she said, trying to placate her. Noela did not truly care that much, but being observed like this without her permission even by someone of her own gender was not something she appreciated. Still, it was probably the least of her worries right now.

Just how was she going to get out of this? She peered at the woman above, examining her more closely. Well-toned muscles were visible beneath her Dark Brotherhood armour, which indicated she was probably not a mage, and the lack of visible weapons meant she was most likely a dagger-wielder. The woman did have an impressive physique, she'd give her that. It made her wonder what was beneath that cowl. Maybe if she fought her, she could rip it off…

Noela shook her head to keep her thoughts from straying. Could she defeat her? Possibly, if her Thu'um worked, which she had no idea if it would. And with her magic, if she did not miss and have to wait for the tiny reserves she possessed to replenish. She could probably kill her in one good hit, but she doubted the assassin would be willing to stay still as a sharp, pointy ice spike made its way toward her.

Was it worth it? Risking her life to take the woman out? She knew deep within though that it was likely going to be a one-sided match; she was severely handicapped and without any assistance from potions and such she was in an even worse position.

The woman exhaled impatiently. "The anticipation is killing me. Can you figure out who has the contract? Which one will you choose?"

Noela looked back into bright green eyes, trying to make her choice. Staring into the eyes of her adversary like this, she knew it was foolish to even attempt it. A part of her also did not want to fight her, though she did not know why. Sighing, Noela turned to the hostages.

She started from the left, seeing as she might as well try to figure out who the correct target was. She approached a man who looked like either a warrior or mercenary.

"Would someone pay to have you killed?" she asked him.

The man began whimpering. "What? Oh gods, I don't want to die…"

Noela narrowed her eyes at the coward and huffed in annoyance. People like this irked her. "Answer me, or die!"

The man recoiled in fear. "Please! I don't know! I mean, I'm a soldier, I've killed people, when I was ordered to…"

Noela lost interest quickly and approached the middle hostage who was a woman. "Would someone pay to have you killed?"

"Excuse me? What kind of question is that?"

The contrast between the two was almost laughable, and Noela responded, "It's all right, just tell me what I need to know."

The woman hesitated. "I'm a woman living in Skyrim with six children and no husband. I don't have the time or patience to be 'nice'. Do some people look down on me? Have I made some enemies? You're damn right."

Noela nodded though the woman couldn't see her and moved onto the last hostage, a Khajiit. "Who are you?" she asked.

A slippery voice responded, "Vasha at your service, obtainer of goods, taker of lives and defiler of daughters. Have you not heard of me? Perhaps I will have my people carve my name in your corpse as a reminder…"

She had heard enough. Her head was throbbing and she wanted nothing more than all of this to be over with. Placing her hand on top of the Khajiit's covered head and willing magic up into the palm of her hand, Noela forcefully gave everything she had and watched Vasha's head erupt into flame. The smell of burning flesh filled the shack and the other two hostages began screaming.

Smoke rose from the Khajiit's head and Noela pulled her hand back as the fire consumed his entire body. She watched in fascination as slowly, his clothes disappeared into curls of black ash, then his skin and fur, and lastly all that remained was his charred flesh as the fire burned itself out.

She was still staring at the corpse when she felt a hand on her bare shoulder and she flinched, jumping away from the source of the touch. The assassin had finally come down off the shelf and Noela took a step back in caution.

"The conniving Khajiit, cat like that was sure to have enemies. It's no wonder you chose him," said the woman.

"So who was it? Who had the contract?" Noela asked, burning to know.

"No, no, no. Don't you understand? Guilt, innocence, right, wrong. Irrelevant. What matters is I ordered you to kill someone, and you obeyed," explained the woman.

Noela was confused. "So, there was no contract?" she questioned vehemently. "Or were they all contracts?" She really had to know. "Did I kill someone innocent?"

"Look, it doesn't matter. It's done, as I said the Khajiit was the obvious choice—"

"Just tell me goddamn it!" she raised her voice in frustration. She didn't know why it was so important she know who had the contract, but something inside her was bursting like a dam and now she had killed two people. _Two people._ In cold blood…

"They all have contracts on them," stated the assassin. Noela looked at her, trying to work out if she was telling the truth. Her green eyes betrayed nothing. "If you were so inclined, you could do me the favour of finishing them off…"

Noela's eyes widened. "What—"

"You don't have to," the woman interrupted, "You're actually free to go. Here." The woman handed a key to Noela who took it. "That unlocks the shack. You've repaid your debt in full, and I'm satisfied with your work here." Noela looked up at the taller woman in confusion. "Your clothes are outside," she said and when Noela did not move she sighed. "Here, follow me." She grabbed the key back from Noela's hand and went over to the door and unlocked it.

Outside, a chest was on the ground against the far wall. Inside were all of Noela's things. The woman knelt down and grabbed a set of Master mage robes, handing it to her. Noela took it quickly and put them on. She then retrieved the pouch of potions herself that she wore on her waist, a dagger she always carried and her bag of other items. When at last everything she owned was back on her, Noela felt better.

"Thanks," she mumbled at the woman, before realising that she wasn't supposed to be thanking her.

"Noela," said the woman. 'Yes, I know who you are," she interjected before Noela could respond in surprise. "From what I've seen today, it's clear you have much potential. The Dark Brotherhood could really use someone like you." There was genuine sincerity in her voice. "But why stop here? I say we take our relationship to the next level," she said in a low, sultry tone.

Noela's eyes snapped up to meet the woman's green ones. The way she had just said that was so… Noela felt something stir within her.

The woman continued, "I would like to officially extend to you an invitation to join my Family. Our Sanctuary is in the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, and the entrance is just beneath the road, hidden from view. When you see the black door, answer with the correct passphrase: 'Silence, my brother'. Then you're in, and your new life begins".

She took a breath before extending out a gloved hand.

"By the way, my name is Astrid."

Noela took her hand and shook it.

Astrid turned to go, but then spoke over her shoulder. "You may not know it now, but I think you will find our Family to be exactly what you're looking for," she said. "I'll see you at home". She waved and disappeared into the forest.

Noela stared after her. But what about the people still…

Noela looked back through the open door of the shack. She walked back inside to where the two hostages still knelt on the floor. She cringed again. It was still a horrible sight. What was she to do with them?

Contracts or not, Noela did not care. She brought out her dagger and cut through the bonds of both of them, before removing their execution hoods. Both stared up at her in surprise and she urged them to go quickly and they ran out of the shack and into the wilderness.

She then turned to the corpse of the Khajiit. "Sorry," she muttered and walked out.


	3. Sanctuary

**Sanctuary**

**Chapter 3: Sanctuary**

The corners of the map fluttered in the wind. She resisted the urge to scrunch it up into a ball and toss it across the clearing.

Sometimes, she wished enchanted maps existed.

The immobile ink seemed to stare indifferently back at her, and finally, she folded it back up with a huge sigh and tucked it back into her pocket.

She still didn't know where she was. She had forgotten to ask Astrid where she had brought her and now the assassin was long gone.

It had been a couple of hours since Noela had released the two remaining hostages, and after that she had spent a good deal of time wandering around, trying to work out her current location.

Not coming across any landmarks though and being in completely unfamiliar territory, she was still as lost as she was two hours ago, perhaps more so; now she didn't even know where the shack was.

She supposed, the only way now was to use Clairvoyance. The problem was, she didn't know where she wanted to go.

Noela stretched her arms. She was feeling a lot better now that she had drunk a few health, magicka and stamina potions, but her stock of potions was running low and she made a mental note to brew a new batch as soon as she saw an alchemy table.

She sat down on the grass, thinking. A list of places came to mind. She could return to Windhelm, and continue what she had been doing—trying to find a wealthy house to steal from. Or, she could return to Whiterun, maybe pay Lydia a visit and inform her that she was not dead. She hadn't been home for almost a month now.

Or lastly… she could take up _her_ offer. Join the Dark Brotherhood. Start a new career.

The last option made Noela shiver. She was still recovering from the 'ordeal' Astrid had put her through. It had only been a few hours ago, after all.

Noela thought back to the shack, the way Vasha's head had felt as she had placed her hand on it a second before she had burned it beyond recognition. The smell of his cooking flesh, the scorching heat of the fire and the screams of the other hostages echoing throughout the cabin were still fresh in her memory.

Perhaps it was his vulnerability as he knelt before her, or the softness of the fur on his head beneath the executioner's hood that made her feel the undeniable power she had over him in his final moments.

That she could determine exactly when another person lived or died, not having to worry about defending herself, that she was safe the whole time; well, it was a feeling she had never experienced before. Until Riften, until Grelod.

And now, the second one. As she recalled taking their lives her blood pulsed faster, from excitement, or even fear, she couldn't tell.

Suddenly, she stood up. Like a flash of inspiration, she knew where she wanted to go. Guided by nothing but a feeling of wanting to know, she conjured up a blue vapour in her hand, a line shooting out and snaking its way through the trees.

She followed it swiftly.

* * *

_24 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

_In the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest_…

It had been three days since Noela had decided to travel to Falkreath Hold. It was a beautiful area, the smell of pine wafting on the breeze, fresh and inviting. The mountains stood tall in the distance, their snow-capped peaks providing a stark contrast to the rest of the snowless forest.

Noela walked along the road, the blue light from her palm flashing out every few seconds as she continually cast the spell. Days of travelling on foot had tired her somewhat, and she had figured out that she had started off somewhere in the north of Skyrim and was likely almost at the other end of the province by now.

She was just beginning to wonder when Clairvoyance would direct her off the path and below the road to where Astrid had said the secret entrance was, when it did so.

The blue went down the embankment, off the road into the dirt and Noela followed, feeling damp leaves clinging to the soles of her boots.

It was only a few hundred metres until she spotted a dead end, nothing but a black pool of water sitting beneath a small, sheltered cliff.

But the line of blue led somewhere to the left, and then she saw it.

A black door.

At first glance, it was terrifying; a large, white skull protruding from the door itself. And then, she noticed something familiar. The same sinister handprint that had been on that letter she had received in Windhelm, except it was blood-red instead of black, smacked right into the middle of the skull's forehead.

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the door though, was there seemed to be strange sounds coming from it.

As she took a few steps closer it became more obvious. An ethereal, echoey sort of sound, a whisper, and the low, almost inaudible pounding of a heartbeat. Like the door was alive, or rather, that it breathed death, or something bizarre of the sort.

Noela stared at the door, the sight and combination of sounds making her stop dead in her tracks. Everything in her body was screaming for her to run the other way, to get as far away from the door as possible.

But, though her blood was running cold and her hands were clammy, her mind was calm. That despite her physiological reactions, she knew what she wanted to do.

The door was sunken into the rock, the main road right above it. She walked into the shadows that the rock provided and stood in front of the door.

"What is the music of life?" a breathless, raspy voice asked.

Fists clenched to control the rapid heartbeat in her ears, she replied, "Silence, my brother."

"Welcome home…" the door hissed, and swung open.

Noela stepped tentatively through the doorway of the Dark Brotherhood hideout. She turned as she heard the heavy slam of the door behind her.

The sounds of the outside suddenly cut off, and her ears were met with nothing but stone-cold silence. Chills ran up her spine as the silence pressed against her eardrums, more deafening than any actual noise.

A short corridor extended before her, and she descended the sandy steps, her senses seemingly heightened by the survival instinct deep within her that begged not to take another step forward.

Still, she ignored it, clenching her teeth to control the strong anxiety she was feeling. She made a right turn, and within moments, found herself in a room.

It was a moderate-sized chamber, shelves of miscellaneous items like books and alchemy ingredients lining the wall to her right, and a large stone table with a throne behind it on the left. The table was almost completely covered with a map that appeared to be that of Skyrim, several daggers sticking out of it where they were embedded in the table below.

Her instinct then detected someone watching her, and her eyes darted to the corridor at the opposite side of the room. Within the doorway, a woman dressed in Dark Brotherhood armour stood leaning against the wall. Blonde hair reached almost to her shoulders, partially done up in braids.

As Noela met the woman's gaze, she felt her breath hitch in her throat as she recognised intelligent, green eyes.

"Astrid," she said, dipping her head in a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"Ah, at last! I hope you found the place alright."

Astrid unfolded her arms and walked out of the shadows of the corridor toward Noela. As the light from the multiple candles about the room illuminated her features a little better, Noela let out a small gasp of surprise.

The woman—was incredibly beautiful. Noela blinked. She couldn't have guessed that when she had vaguely wondered what had been under that cowl and mask, that _this_ was the face that was hidden beneath it.

"Yes, it was easy enough, with the instructions you gave," responded Noela in a more formal tone.

Astrid was a Nord that appeared to be in her late thirties, with a demeanour that oozed authority and confidence. Although her presence would likely be intimidating to most, Noela did not feel it; in fact, it was easy to see that the woman commanded something of respect. Noela had no idea of her position here, but somehow she could see a similar sort of… desire; for high expectations, achievement and ambition, that Noela herself could easily relate to.

"Well, I'm glad," said Astrid, stopping a few feet from Noela and spreading her arms. "Welcome to the Dark Brotherhood. Herein begins your new life, and your new career. You're part of the family now." She gave a warm smile that enhanced her already appealing features even more. "This as you can see, is our Sanctuary, you won't find a safer place in all of Skyrim, so get comfortable."

"I am honoured to be a part of your family, Astrid," said Noela with as much politeness as she could muster. Though she felt rather distracted by the woman's appearance, Noela was not going to let that ruin the hopefully good first impression she wanted to make.

"_Our_ family, my dearest. Our family," said Astrid with a wave of her hand. "Together, united as one, the Dark Brotherhood can accomplish anything. You will find that your fellow brothers and sisters come from all walks of life, but ultimately, it is our diversity that strengthens us."

Astrid walked to the stone table behind her and picked up an old-looking book that lay on the edge, its cover rather tattered and worn.

"Read this," she said, holding it out to Noela. "It may shed some light on the Dark Brotherhood that you might not have known. Consider it your homework, in preparation for your training tomorrow."

Noela was eyeing the book with curiosity and took it from Astrid's hand, muttering a soft, "Thanks." Then she looked up at the Nord. "I'll be undergoing training?"

"Yes," replied Astrid with a nod. "It's a new program I've put together just recently—see, most of our new recruits weren't making it past the three-week mark."

"You mean—they died?" Noela asked in surprise.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, sister. This line of work is not to be taken lightly, as I'm sure you're aware. It most certainly isn't for the faint of heart."

"No problem," said Noela confidently. "I assure you that I will not meet the same fate, that I intend on producing nothing but my best work here."

"Mm," said Astrid, peering at her with interest. "A determined student, likely to excel? Well, it appears you're precisely what the doctor ordered, Noela. I am glad I crossed paths with you."

Noela was about to remind her that she had, indeed, _kidnapped_ her, which was not remotely close to _crossing paths_, but decided it best not to bring that up right now.

"Well now, do you have any questions? Otherwise I'll ask you to find Nazir; he'll be able to tell you more about your training for tomorrow, and show you around the place."

Noela thought for a moment. "Yes. Are there any rules I should be aware of?"

"Hmm…" said Astrid, seeming to recall something. "Used to be the Dark Brotherhood was bound by Five Tenets, but we stopped following those years ago. All those rules, all that discipline, and look where the Dark Brotherhood ended up. We're the last of our kind, and we live the way we see fit. Bottom line—respect your family. Do that, and everything else will fall into place."

"The last of our kind?" Noela repeated blankly. "What do you mean by that?"

Astrid exhaled. "What I mean, sister, is that we're in a much worse state than you probably realise. The Dark Brotherhood is on the verge of extinction; we are all that's left. This Sanctuary"—she indicated about the room—"is in fact the last remaining Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary in all of Tamriel. The rest've been wiped out."

"Really? What happened?"

"That—is a long story. I'll tell you another time, Noela. What you have to know is—this is _my_ Sanctuary, and you'll obey _my _rules. Everyone here looks out for one another, so as long as you don't cause trouble, you'll fit right in."

"Understood." Noela dipped her head again. "So, that would make you the leader of the Dark Brotherhood then, wouldn't it?"

Astrid smiled. "I'm glad you understand. Now, one last thing…" She went to the shelves and came back with a set of apparel and some shoes. "A welcome home present. The robes of the Dark Brotherhood. May it serve you well in all your… endeavours."

Noela took the Dark Brotherhood robes and shoes from her which were coloured red and black, same as the armour. The handprint she had seen numerous times now was emblazoned on both the front and back of the robes. All the pieces of apparel carried various enchantments on them; she could tell from their magical signatures.

"Thank you," said Noela.

"Soon the Night Mother will arrive, and things are sure to get even more interesting around here. But for now, go and see Nazir. And be sure to introduce yourself to the rest of your family members. They're all very eager to meet you."

After Astrid had dismissed her, Noela proceeded down the narrow stone steps that led deeper into the Sanctuary. She didn't have to go far to find the rest of her 'family' though; a group of people were standing in the large cavern she now found herself in, and they were talking in excited voices.

The room appeared to be a natural cave that was now being used as both a training ground and a smithing space; a grindstone, workbench and forge were present on the left of the room, with training dummies further in the distance. On the right, was a spectacular-looking waterfall, majestic in its height, the water falling graciously into a pond below.

The sound of rushing water reverberated around the cavern, but it wasn't enough to drown out the conversation, and as Noela neared the group of assassins, she began to make out sentences.

"Again, again!" laughed an Argonian male. "Do the part where he tries to buy you some candy."

A little girl with luminous red eyes spoke up. "Okay, okay, wait. Here we go." She arranged her features into an elongated sort of expression. "Oh, you are such a pretty little girl. Would the sweetie like a sweetie? Oh yes, how about some chocolate?"

Noela counted six people in total, including the little girl, and they were all watching her very animated gestures with amusement.

"Oh yes, please, kind sir," the girl continued in a higher register. "My mama and papa left me all alone, and I'm so _very_ hungry. I know a shortcut to the candy shop. Through this alley!" Then she switched her voice back to its lower tone again. "Oh ya, very good, very good… My, it is dark down here. Oh, but you are so beautiful. Such a lovely smile. Your teeth—your teeth! No!"

The girl curled her upper lip back to reveal sharp fangs, then she tilted her head sideways and lashed out into the air as if to bite an invisible person in the neck.

Everyone began laughing, and Noela stared at the vampire child.

"Oh Babette, but you are so wicked," said a female Dunmer mage, shaking her head.

Then a Redguard male wearing an Alik'r hood said to the elderly mage beside him, "What about you, Festus? How did that last contract turn out?"

Festus didn't get to reply though, a large Nord man with broad shoulders cutting in with thick sarcasm, "Oh, yes please old man. Regale us with your tales of wizardry."

Festus let out a heavy scoff. "The young and stupid, always mocking the experienced and brilliant," he said, shaking his head at the Nord. "My contract went very well, I'll have you know. Tried a new spell—little something I've been working on in my spare time. Came 'this' close to turning that priest inside out." He held out a thumb and forefinger to indicate a tiny amount. "Damned messy."

The others nodded, some with interest, some not so much, then the Dunmer said to the Nord, "And what of your latest, Arnbjorn? Something about a Khajiit? Merchant, was it?"

He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Babette, the vampire girl who squealed, "Oh, a big doggy chasing a little kitty, how adorable!"

Roars of laughter rang about the cavern.

Arnbjorn though, crossed his arms, looking none too pleased. "I am not adorable, it was not funny, and he wasn't a merchant. He was a Khajiit monk, a master of the Whispering Fang style. But now he's dead, and I have a new loincloth."

Everyone laughed again and then the group dispersed, the mages and the vampire heading for the far end of the cavern.

Noela had stopped at the foot of the steps, and suddenly remembered that she was meant to speak to Nazir. She wasn't sure who that was, though.

The Redguard, who was nearest to her, spotted her first and approached.

"So you're the newest member of our dwindling, dysfunctional little family," he said, stopping before her and giving her a quick eye up and down. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

Noela bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Save the niceties for now," he responded rather coldly. "I have no intention of getting invested in someone who may be dead tomorrow. If you're still breathing in a few weeks, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends."

He gave her a look that communicated quite clearly that he didn't think she was going to survive until then, and Noela said, "What's your name?"

"Nazir."

She took a breath. "Nazir, I'll have you know that I will _most definitely_ be alive in a few weeks. I'm not your typical cutthroat, so… I do hope you're looking forward to having a new best friend."

Nazir blinked, and then he scoffed, "Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it."

He was about to turn to leave, when Noela said, "Astrid said to ask you for an orientation of sorts."

"Oh, right," he muttered.

Nazir gave her a tour of the Sanctuary, and she met a few of the other assassins that they bumped into along the way.

There was Veezara, the Argonian who was doing some archery practice in the training section of the cavern. Then there was Gabriella, Festus and Babette—the two mages and the vampire. There was also a terrifying-looking frostbite spider living in the pit in the corner of the room, which Gabriella had affectionately introduced as her pet, Lis. Lis fed on human remains, and Noela briefly wondered whose skeleton that was that now lay in the pit with the arachnid.

Nazir had then shown her the dining hall, and took her up the log ramp that led to the sleeping quarters directly above. She was given the spare bed and a trunk to place her belongings, before Nazir finished up the tour.

"Be out by the black pond tomorrow at dawn. Pack supplies for a few days, and your mentor will take you on a few practice assassinations. Well… not practice, per se, you'll be killing three very real, flesh and blood people," he laughed darkly. "And make sure you're not late."

He strode down the ramp back to the dining room and Noela walked over to her bed, letting the clothes and book she was still carrying in her arms tumble down onto the mattress.

She let out a sigh, thinking that Nazir was probably not as cold and unfriendly as he let on.

Still, her activities over the last hour had somewhat worn her out; meeting a bunch of deadly assassins was not something one did every day, let alone deciding to live with them for the unforeseeable future.

Her attention was caught by the book and she picked it up, remembering that she had homework to complete before tomorrow.

Because it was still the afternoon and she probably shouldn't be sleeping so early anyway, Noela went in search of somewhere nice to read it. She ventured into the next room, and found herself in a long and wide corridor that sounded like it led back to the cavern, from the sound of the waterfall in the distance.

There was a table and couple of chairs by the wall, and she sat down.

Looking up, she saw that there was a framed picture on the wall; well not exactly a picture. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a list of sentences.

_The Five Tenets_.

Quickly, Noela read through them.

Tenet I: Never dishonour the Night Mother.

Tenet II: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets.

Tenet III: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior.

Tenet IV: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother of Dark Sister.

Tenet V: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister.

And after each tenet, were the words: To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Noela's mind flitted back to what Astrid had said to her, that the Dark Brotherhood was no longer bound by these rules. She couldn't see what was so bad about them though, if anything, it seemed that they would only act to solidify the 'family'.

She shrugged, and was about to open the book in her hands when she heard footsteps approaching from behind. She turned to see Arnbjorn standing there.

"Well, well. It's raw meat. Oh, my beautiful wife has told me all about you."

"Er—your _wife_?" Noela asked, confused.

Arnbjorn frowned, "Let me guess, Astrid failed to mention I'm her husband? She has a tendency to do that. Doesn't want the others thinking she plays favourites."

"Oh, she's _married_?" Noela asked in surprise. _To you?_ She wanted to add, surveying the rough-looking Nord.

He was tall with long, white hair that draped over his shoulders and down to his wide, muscular chest. He was well-built, though for some reason he wore no gloves or shoes like the other assassins. There was also a faint smell of body odour or something coming off him. She wondered why Astrid had chosen to marry him; his scent was rather off-putting, not to mention his boorish and crude manner.

"Yeah, lamb shank, I just told you that."

"Arnbjorn, was it?" said Noela. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

It was a kind of out-of-the-blue question, and usually she wasn't one to pry at all, but she wanted to find out more information on this husband of Astrid's.

Arnbjorn replied, "Look, if you're trying to get to know me—don't. I don't like you, and I never will. It's nothing personal. But my wife trusts you, and I trust her judgement. So you can't be all bad." He gave her a serious look. "Here's what you need to know: I'm a werewolf. I like killing things. I love Astrid. I hate annoying people. And the colour blue gives me a headache."

He then stalked off before she could respond.

It took her brain a few seconds to register it, but then she realised that the reason he smelled was most likely because he was a werewolf.

Still, she wasn't sure what Astrid saw in him, and decided it was not her business to care about it anyway. She returned to the book in her hands.

_The Night Mother's Truth._


	4. Student and Mentor

**Student and Mentor**

**Chapter 4: Student and Mentor**

Noela was awake at five-thirty the next morning. Silently, so she didn't wake her other 'family members' who also shared the sleeping quarters, she slipped into her new Dark Brotherhood robes and packed her bag with some supplies she'd found lying around the Sanctuary the night before.

Fortunately, she had also had the chance to use the alchemy table, and with her stock of potions and supplies back up to their usual level, she slung the bag over her shoulder and headed for the kitchen downstairs.

Here, she found some random bits of food and stuffed those in her bag, before making her way toward the entrance.

The Sanctuary was completely still and silent, save for the sound of the waterfall as she passed back through the cavern and up the stairs to the room where she had met Astrid yesterday.

Going up the final stretch of stairs, she opened the black door and stepped into the chilly morning air.

It was probably just shy of 6 o'clock now, and though it was still dark Noela could see a faint band of light on the eastern horizon. The smell of pine was strong in the forest, and she walked over to the black pond to await the person who would be training her.

She only had to wait a few minutes though, before the black door opened again and someone stepped out.

But it was dark, and she couldn't see who it was. Part of her hoped it wouldn't be Arnbjorn, but she supposed if it came down to it she'd just have to put up with him.

The footsteps came toward her and the person said, "Noela, are you out here?"

Noela recognised the voice immediately, and she said, "Yep."

Holding out her palm, she swiftly cast Candlelight and the ball of light floated up to rest above her head.

"Astrid," said Noela cordially. "So _you're_ going to be my mentor?" she asked with a certain degree of surprise.

Astrid was dressed in the same armour again, a small pack strapped across her body, and Noela was sort of glad to see that she had chosen not to wear the cowl.

The woman nodded, "I am. I usually ask one of our family members to train new initiates, but in your case, I decided to come along."

"I see," said Noela, though she did wonder why. Surely the leader of the Dark Brotherhood had more important things to do than train her? She doubted she even needed training anyway—she _was_ the Dragonborn, plus an experienced thief. Killing and sneaking was her domain.

"Shall we head off then? We have quite a lot of ground to cover," said Astrid, before setting off along the path that led back up to the main road. Noela followed suit, walking beside her.

"So what exactly does this training entail?" asked Noela, injecting a little enthusiasm into her voice.

"Your training—consists of three assassinations. One each in Ivarstead, Anga's Mill, and Dawnstar. We're heading to Ivarstead first, and should arrive before midnight if we keep up a good pace."

Noela nodded just as her spell vanished. "And who're the targets?"

"Just a minute," Astrid muttered before Noela heard a swooshing sound. Suddenly, they were bathed in firelight, the light source a torch in Astrid's hand. "That's better. Now, yes, the targets. The first is a beggar by the name of Narfi. Second, Ennodius Papius, an ex-miller, and third, Beitild, who owns Iron-Breaker Mine in Dawnstar."

The flames danced about Astrid's face, casting light and shadow over the other assassin that gave her a sort of frightening veneer, and for a moment Noela was reminded that she was in the company of one of Skyrim's most accomplished and deadly killers.

"Okay. And how would you have me kill them?" Noela asked, wanting to know so she could plan out the assassinations.

"I do like your eagerness, Noela," commented Astrid lightly. "I'll admit I'm rather excited to see how you will murder your targets this time; see, I did enjoy the display you gave back in the abandoned shack… makes me wonder what you'll have up your sleeve this time."

Noela stared at the other woman for a second, her words having hit her somewhat out of the dark. She wondered if Astrid had come along just because she wanted to watch her kill people, or if there was some other reason. Being reminded of the shack incident though, made her insides squirm with a hatred that she was mildly aware of; the woman had forced her to kill, against her will, and that wasn't something she was going to forget anytime soon.

"You flatter me, Astrid, but I was merely doing as you ordered," said Noela a little stiffly.

The assassin laughed, "And you did that beautifully, my dearest. To answer your question though, I'll be giving you full liberty to carry out these assassinations how you see fit. But, I'm here as a source of advice, and support—I am your mentor after all. And if you screw up and get yourself into trouble, well, my job is to get you out of it alive."

Noela nodded, a sense of gratitude involuntarily washing over her. "Much appreciated," she said automatically. The last thing she wanted was to be indebted to this woman, however.

* * *

After about two hours they stopped for a quick breakfast, finding a couple of logs to sit down on.

Now, the sun was fully up, and the temperature was already warming up to a rather comfortable level for the day. Noela produced an apple from her bag, and Astrid a bread roll, and the two women began to chew in silence.

They quickly finished their food, and Astrid was the first to speak.

"I think it's time we begin your training. Tell me, sister, have you thought about how you will kill your first target?"

Noela shook her head. "Not really. Perhaps a shot of ice magic, or maybe my dagger."

"Are you well versed in killing?"

"I'd say so," said Noela without missing a beat. "I've killed tons of creatures, bandits, animals, dr—" Noela stopped herself before she revealed her biggest secret. On second thought, she didn't really know if it was a secret, given that Astrid had known her name.

"Okay," said Astrid, gazing at her intently. "Though murdering is quite a different beast from the simple act of killing. I wonder… what did you feel the first time you murdered, Noela?"

The straightforward manner in which Astrid was asking such a heavy question threw Noela off for a moment. She had to say, no one had ever asked her such a question before, let alone so casually. It only emphasised the twistedness of the Dark Brotherhood, and Noela was beginning to wonder if she had truly understood the magnitude of her decision in joining.

"My first murder… was Grelod," said Noela, a tiny bit of her shuddering at the admission. "She deserved to die, so I felt nothing but gladness when she was gone from the world."

"Really?" asked Astrid, leaning forward on the log. "You murdered an innocent woman out of good intentions?"

"Yes. It was a no-brainer. She tortured the kids and they all wanted her dead. It was the right choice."

"Hmm," said Astrid thoughtfully. "You didn't _enjoy_ it at all?"

"I don't know," answered Noela truthfully. "The only difference was that she wasn't armed or going to kill me, like a usual enemy would be. Getting away was a bit of a rush though, I do like that hit of adrenaline."

"And what about the Khajiit?" asked Astrid with a certain eagerness. "How was the experience?"

Noela frowned at her, wanting to slap her in the face for having the gall to ask her about it. "As I said, I killed him because you forced me to kill."

"Yes, but what about what you felt _during _the kill?" asked Astrid, not seeming to pick up on Noela's resentment.

"Well—I don't know," said Noela honestly. "Maybe I liked it, maybe I didn't, it was hard to tell."

Deep inside, Noela knew that perhaps she actually did, but she didn't want to face it. She wasn't a murderer, in the sense that she killed for enjoyment. Right?

On the other hand, that had been the deciding factor when she had joined the Dark Brotherhood. She wanted to find out…

"Alright," said Astrid, standing up. "First things first, let's talk about assassinating. For one, it's not the same as killing. The reason I asked those questions was not to put you on the spot, or make you question yourself, or anything like that. We actually don't care about that at all here. I don't care if you murder for money, or because killing makes you ecstatic—it doesn't matter in the slightest. But, the difference is that you are taking a supposedly 'innocent' life—which, by the way, is completely ridiculous, there's no such thing as innocence—which is where some of our initiates faltered in the past and cost them their lives."

Noela glanced up at her at that, not sure if she had understood. "You're saying some new initiates died because they lost their confidence?"

"Well, it's more like they succumbed to the weakness of their minds. They simply lost the stomach for it. Whether guilt, empathy, or some other emotion, that is a weakness that is powerful enough to make you falter in the face of your target. And when that happens, you either get killed, or thrown in jail. And here, failing missions and jobs is very bad for our business and our reputation. I hope you understand."

Noela nodded slowly, knowing theoretically that it could happen to her but considering herself strong enough that she wasn't going to let any of this affect her performance. She was here to start a new career, and she was going to be incredibly disappointed if she messed up.

"Good then," continued Astrid. "Now, we have four basic rules that make an assassination, successful. Number one, have no witnesses. You cannot be seen. Number two, don't leave a trail. Three, don't get caught. And four, make sure you actually kill the target. There's been a handful of times when initiates leave without verifying that the target is in fact dead, which as you can imagine, doesn't please our clients very much. Any questions?"

"No."

"Right then, let's go over a quick run through on weapons or modes of attack. Clearly, you'll be relying on magic, and also your dagger, correct?"

Noela nodded.

"Unfortunately I can't train you on magic in conjunction with assassination, you'll have to ask Gabriella or Festus to help with that. As for a dagger though—well, that is my area of expertise."

Astrid produced a curved and rather unique looking dagger from her belt and held it up. "This blade… has taken more lives than I can count. Would you like me to show you the different ways you can sneak-assassinate with it?"

"Um… alright," Noela said hesitantly, not sure that she needed help with using a dagger but maybe Astrid knew a trick or two she didn't.

"Then, turn around."

"What?" Noela asked in surprise.

"You want me to show you a successful sneak kill? Obviously, I won't execute it though," Astrid said with a chuckle.

Noela stood rooted to the spot. She most certainly did not feel comfortable turning her back on a professional, armed assassin, especially one that had threatened her life once before. Astrid gazed back, a small smile on her lips. Noela wanted to trust her, she did, but figured if she wanted her dead she could've just killed her while she had slept in the Sanctuary anyway.

Exhaling, Noela spun around, thinking that as a last defence she could just shout Unrelenting Force at her.

She stood awkwardly for a few seconds, trying to sense Astrid's presence. She also tried to block out the background sounds of the forest, and closed her eyes to better concentrate.

There was nothing.

Of course their boots and shoes were magically muffled so she couldn't hear footsteps. But there was also no sound of movement, of clothes rustling, of breathing, nor any twigs snapping nor stones accidentally kicked.

The anticipation was making her heart beat faster, and just as she was wondering when it would happen she felt cold steel at her throat, the knife having seemingly come out of nowhere.

"And you're dead," whispered the woman into her ear. Astrid laughed softly, and Noela froze for a moment as the sound sent a strong shiver through her. Now she could feel the presence of a body behind her, the other woman blocking the wind from her back. There was also the faint scent of mountain flowers, of the red variety, and it was such a gentle, pleasant smell that Noela was strangely comforted for a second. But, her instincts kicked in a moment later and she attempted to twist out of the death grip, but Astrid had her tightly trapped.

"You surprise me, Noela. I didn't actually think you'd let me do this," Astrid said. "Now, this is what I think is best. First, cover the target's airways." She brought up her left hand and covered Noela's mouth and nose. "Next, it's up to you where you go for, but I tend to like the big artery, just here." She gently tapped a point on Noela's neck a little to the side. "A deep slice is good, even a stab, and you'll get a wonderful spillage of blood." She gave another low laugh. "If you favour a less messier way, aim for this spot"—she pointed closer to Noela's jaw—"and stab. Forcefully."

Astrid was quiet for a moment and Noela could feel her own heart beating a thousand miles a minute. She wasn't sure if it was because of the rather intimate way the woman was currently holding her or the fact that she was actually in a very precarious and completely defenceless position, once again no less. All she knew, was that she didn't like this feeling, this sense of powerlessness.

Noela spoke into the assassin's hand, but the words were incomprehensible.

"What?" asked the Nord, removing her hand from the mage's face.

"I think I've got it," Noela repeated, feeling frazzled.

"Good then," said Astrid, and lowered her weapon.

Noela spun around. "Thanks—for the lesson." She looked up at the taller woman who was still rather close to her, and Noela stepped back to give herself more breathing room. "Is that your favourite method of assassin, Astrid?"

"Me? No. I like to talk to my targets before the kill. Taunt them, scare them, even challenge them. That can have interesting results. Some victims may flee, others may cower in fear. If you can goad a target into attacking you first, you may even find any local guards coming to your aid."

"That—seems a little brash, if I may say so," said Noela, speaking her thoughts. "Wouldn't it be easier to just kill them while they're asleep?"

"Well, of course, sister," answered Astrid flippantly. "But once you get to the point where you can assassinate them with your eyes closed, you'll be looking for the next challenge. So," she said, clapping her hands together, "that concludes our training for now. Why don't you utilise what you've just learned in our upcoming assassination. I promise I'll let you do it all. I'll stay in the background, a silent observer."

"Sure," said Noela, watching the excitement on her mentor's face. It was fleeting, but there was a split second where Noela had the strong desire to do this job well, so that the expression didn't change into one of disappointment.

* * *

It was shortly after midnight when Astrid and Noela arrived in Ivarstead.

Having travelled since dawn, the two women had found themselves rather tired by sunset, and had thus taken a short, impromptu nap, each taking turns to keep watch.

Ivarstead was as quiet as it always was, the small number of inhabitants now tucked safely away in their homes and beds. The main road through the town, however, was patrolled by guards night and day, and Astrid had led them around the back of the inn and alongside the river in order to avoid being seen.

They stopped under a tree on a large and flat rock, and Astrid pointed across the river to the opposite bank. "That's Narfi's house," she said to the mage.

Noela squinted into the distance, the moonlight illuminating what looked like a ruined farmhouse. Half the roof was missing, and the walls were badly damaged. "So how do we get across the river?" Noela asked, looking at the very strong current that she doubted would be safe to swim across.

"There's a narrow point down there," Astrid said, indicating further down the bank and closer to the timber mill.

Once at the water's edge, Noela briefly had the brilliant idea to use Whirlwind Sprint to get across and keep her feet dry, then remembered that she didn't want to reveal she was the Dragonborn.

Sucking in a deep breath in preparation for what was surely going to be very cold water, she waded across to the other side, Astrid having already reached the opposite bank ahead of her.

Though their footsteps were silent, their shoes still squelched on the muddy bank. Resuming a sneak position, they crept up to the beggar's house.

Narfi the target was visible inside his half-blown apart house, sitting at a table and eating what appeared to be a bread loaf. Astrid, who was standing beside her, made a sweeping gesture across her throat, and Noela kickstarted their plan into action.

The Nord stayed behind as she had said she would, and Noela took the lead, creeping around to the back of the structure near a tall rock face to what was presumably the main entrance of the house.

Stepping silently onto the main porch, Noela entered the house through the open front doorway, Narfi's back currently to her where he sat.

Her plan was to sneak up behind him and kill him with her blade, but when he unexpectedly spun around on his seat and stood up, she froze.

She was not invisible of course, and he did a double take.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded, his face affright.

Noela's heart stopped, and she reverted to one of the backup plans they had discussed. "Your pathetic existence has come to an end, Narfi," she said as threateningly as she could. Slowly, she unsheathed her dagger.

Narfi's eyes went wide, and even in the dim moonlight she could clearly see his fear. He was frightened of her.

"Oh… Oh no… Please, please," he begged, bending over and bringing his arms up to cover his head. "I ain't never harmed no one… Old Narfi just wants to be left alone…"

As she watched her target, a knot began to form in Noela's belly. For a few moments, she hesitated, knowing that she had to do what she said she was going to do, but at the same time, part of her didn't want to do it.

Her sense of time warped, and Noela stood motionless, the fact that she was about to commit murder finally seeming to sink into her brain.

Narfi was still cowering, whimpering from the sound of it, and Noela didn't know how many seconds had passed since she had entered the house.

In her mind, a flashback of a conversation she'd had earlier in the day came rushing back. Astrid, standing amongst the tall pines where they had finished breakfast, was giving her a lecture about new initiates. What was it she had said exactly? That they had lost the stomach for the job, succumbed to the weakness of their minds?

Noela gulped, realising that this was exactly what was happening to her.

Snapping out of her reverie, she hastily lunged for the still-cowering beggar, thrusting her dagger into the left of his chest where his heart was.

He let out a blood-curling scream, and she twisted the dagger in his flesh, the dark and thick liquid spurting out from the wound and splashing onto her robes.

As she held the handle of the blade, she could feel her sleeves and her arms getting drenched, the amazingly warm liquid cooling fast in the night air and making her shiver from the cold.

With a quick twist and a pull, she yanked the dagger out of the man, thinking that it might be quicker if the blood flowed out faster.

Narfi collapsed onto the wood floor of the house, his body causing the entire structure to vibrate. Noela stepped back away from the blood that was beginning to pool fast on the floor, spreading into the cracks and gaps between the wood planks and dripping down to below the house.

The man made horrible gurgling sounds as he twitched and spasmed, and it was probably at least a few minutes before his body finally stilled, the life at last leaving him.

Noela exhaled a deep breath, and sheathed her dagger. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and almost jumped in alarm.

"Ah, sorry to frighten you, sister," said Astrid.

"Please don't sneak up on me like that," Noela said, putting a hand to her heart.

"Sorry," Astrid chuckled. "Anyway, you did well, Noela. You handled the surprise well and moved onto the backup plan quickly, so I'm pleased with that. As for your kill, well executed. I did notice a slight hesitation at the start, but otherwise you pulled it off smoothly. Bonus points for lots of blood, which, by the way, you have all over yourself now." Astrid eyed her clothes up and down and gave a short laugh. "I think the look suits you, Noela. Gives you more of an _edge_."

"You're joking," said Noela in disbelief. "Isn't this disgusting?" she asked, staring down at herself.

"Not to me," said Astrid, and they walked back to the front doorway. "If you wanted to clean up though, just take a swim. We'll spend the night at the inn, then head off for the next location tomorrow."

"We're going to the inn?" asked Noela in surprise. "In our Dark Brotherhood clothes?" she added incredulously.

"Yes, we are," Astrid replied simply. "You forget that the public hardly sees us, Noela, provided we do our jobs well. So, going to public places is really not all that risky, it is rare that we get recognised. Of course, there is a certain degree of risk to it, but wouldn't you overlook that for a nice and warm bed tonight or would you prefer your bed roll out here in the cold?"

"Well, now that you say it like that," said Noela, "of course I'd pick the bed."

"Well then, let's get moving."


	5. Emotions

**Emotions**

**Chapter 5: Emotions**

After spending the night at Vilemyr Inn in Ivarstead, Noela had woken up feeling refreshed, which was good, considering that they had a lot of travelling again to undergo today.

Trying not to grumble, Noela had asked Astrid why they didn't just take horses in order to speed up the travel time. But the Nord's response was that there was no spare horse for Noela at the moment, all the rest being used by their fellow family members for other missions they were undertaking. Noela didn't know if that was true or not, and wondered if there was some other reason they had to take the more tedious way.

By late afternoon they had arrived near the city of Windhelm, but instead of turning right to head toward the city, they turned left to take the path across the icy river and toward Anga's Mill near where the target was.

By evening, they passed through the mill, which stood either side of the main road, and then headed up a steep hill.

Once at the top, there was a small camp. A tent sat on the edge of the icy river, at the top of the falls that dropped spectacularly back down to the bottom of the hill. A campfire was lit between the tent and the water's edge, and Noela briefly stood in awe of the fantastic view.

Back towards the east, she could see Windhelm on the horizon, thin columns of smoke rising from the chimneys, visible even from here. At the bottom of the hill where they had come from, she could see Anga's Mill. The rest of the surroundings was forest, leaning towards a more alpine variety. They were much further to the north now, and the climate was quite different from the warmer temperatures of Falkreath and even Ivarstead.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Noela said absentmindedly, staring at the scenery.

"And it's about to get even more beautiful, once you kill him," responded Astrid. She pointed to a man that Noela had not seen sitting by the campfire, the tent obscuring him somewhat from where she stood.

"That's Ennodius Papius?" asked Noela to confirm.

"Yes. He used to be the miller of Anga's Mill. But since, he's spiralled into paranoia, and is now convinced the Dark Brotherhood is after him," smirked Astrid. "And he's right."

Noela gaped at the Nord. "That's kind of cruel."

"And you've a job to do," said Astrid matter-of-factly. "Assassinate him, like we planned. I'll be watching." She gave a wink and strode for a clump of alpine trees to remain out of view of any passers-by.

"As you wish," Noela muttered to herself, and approached the target.

Astrid had asked her to speak to the target this time, as a next-level sort of challenge to one-up the assassination she had just completed. True, she had spoken to Narfi before killing him, but that had not been the plan.

Ennodius Papius was an Imperial, and he stood up as he saw her approach.

"Why are you here? Get away from me!" he said with hostility, perhaps sensing the evil intent of the woman marching towards him.

"You were right to be paranoid, Ennodius," said Noela in an emotionless tone.

The man's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" She watched as his expression morphed into one of realisation, and he exclaimed, "Oh! Oh no… No!"

It seemed like he wanted to run away, but his feet wouldn't move. Noela gave him a few seconds to react or to see if he would run away, but when it looked like he was staying put, she decided it was best not to hesitate any further like she had done last night.

She held out her palms, and conjured in a controlled manner, hundreds of tiny icy particles. This was the first time she was attempting this new technique she had thought of, and slowly focused her magicka so that each ice particle began extending upwards in very thin, fine ice needles.

Ennodius peered out from beneath his fingers, his hands placed over his face, and stared with wide eyes at her magic. Noticing that he was watching, Noela turned her palms so that rather than facing upward, they were now facing towards him. Just a little longer and they'd be the perfect size.

Eyes now the size of saucers, Ennodius finally found his feet and began to run away from her, though he was heading right for the river since she was closer to the road.

Once the ice needles had reached their optimum length for precision and speed through the air, Noela fired them off from both palms, hundreds of tiny ice spikes flying straight for the back of the man.

They pierced him within seconds and he collapsed, infinite spots of blood spraying onto the snow in all directions. He was holding himself up on all fours, looking like a ridiculously gruesome porcupine, and she found it strange that he was still able to hold himself up. Perhaps she had missed his vital points.

But it was when he began to keel over and succumb to his injuries that she could see some of the spikes protruding from his chest as well, no doubt having travelled through his back and almost out the other side.

Coughing and spluttering, Ennodius Papius took about ten minutes until he reached his last breath, the light from the campfire illuminating his now dead eyes.

"Fantastic…" Noela heard Astrid say as the Nord emerged somewhere from the shadows. "You pulled it off brilliantly. I've never seen magic quite like that."

Noela turned away from the corpse, her mind seemingly in a daze. "That's—the first time I've tried to manipulate my ice like that." She glanced over her shoulder at Ennodius Papius's body covered in a bloody mess of needles. Half of her wanted to sprint as far away from it as she could, but on the other hand… she couldn't stop looking at it.

Astrid was still gazing at the murder scene. "It's so… perfect," she said. "From the execution to the final image… Ah, your brothers and sisters would so love to see this." She tore her gaze away. "Anyway, Noela, let's find a place to camp for tonight. First thing tomorrow we head for Dawnstar."

* * *

The following morning they headed off for the third and final destination of Noela's training.

Beitild, the boss of Iron-Breaker Mine, was her last target, and Noela wanted this assassination to be her best one yet. She was just thinking about how she would do it when Astrid interrupted her thoughts.

"You surprise me, Noela," began the Nord, glancing at her from a little ahead where she took the lead on the snowy mountain path.

Noela looked up questioningly from beneath her hood; since they were venturing into colder temperatures now she had opted to keep it up all the time. "Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because… of the way you kill," Astrid said with a semi-sadistic smile.

"Er—the way I kill?"

"Yes," nodded the Nord. "I knew you had potential when I met you, but I didn't fathom just how… sick, you were."

Noela's mouth dropped open. "What do you mean I'm _sick_?"

"Hmm," Astrid pondered, looking up at the sky. "I mean that you have a preference for the bloody and the painful, so far as I've witnessed. You like it _flashy_—but don't get me wrong, I like your style."

She grinned at the mage and Noela still stared at her, her mouth agape. "No…" she uttered, shaking her head. "I think you've got me wrong, Astrid."

"There's no need to deny it sister, it's who you are," her mentor continued in a dark tone. "Why else would you have killed Ennodius Papius in such a long, drawn-out and painful way? You could've put him out of his misery at any time, but you chose not to."

"After I attacked him, I sort of lost track of time and it didn't even occur to me to finish him off," explained Noela adamantly. "I didn't mean to make it slow and painful. I was just aiming for a method that wasn't boring."

"And you succeeded," said Astrid, stepping in closer to her and Noela faintly caught her scent on the wind. "I saw your expression when you killed him. It was like you were caught in a trance, and you didn't break out of it until he'd died. You just admitted it yourself—the fact that you think up interesting ways to kill a person surely says something about you, doesn't it?"

Noela's brow scrunched up in worry, and she bit the inside of her cheek, feeling anxiety beginning to eat at her. She gazed down at her shoes, watching them dig icy paths in the snow.

* * *

_28 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

When they reached their final destination that evening, Astrid made them scout out the area beforehand to determine the conditions they were dealing with. Beitild, the woman in charge of Iron-Breaker Mine was to die tonight; the only problem was, she was in a city bustling with much foot traffic, citizens and guards alike. It also didn't help that the mine was right outside the Jarl's house, which was guarded twenty-four-seven by a single soldier standing beside the front door.

Despite this, Astrid was confident that they'd be able to pull it off. Since the conversation they'd had in the morning, Noela had felt rather down. She wasn't sure if it was what Astrid had said that had upset her somewhat, because usually she did not let other people's words bother her in the slightest.

She was still trying to work it all out in her head when the Nord asked her which method of assassination she was going to use this time around. But where Noela would usually think up something new and interesting, she instead faltered, referring her mentor to instead choose one for her.

Astrid had opened her mouth to suggest something eagerly, but then stopped herself. She insisted that she wanted Noela to do this, and had specifically requested for something even more creative, to 'show her what art truly is'.

Noela exhaled, wondering what in the name of the Gods she was going to do this time. There were just so many people everywhere. True, the sun was going down, and Noela could take the easy way out and just wait till Beitild headed on home before stalking her and once she was asleep, swoop in and do it.

But, she knew Astrid would be severely disappointed in her for doing that. And even if she knew that it was stupid that she had to please the leader in this way, because, really, the woman just wanted to be entertained, a big part of her also wanted to rise to the challenge and do something even better.

It still didn't appease the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, but she didn't have time now to dwell on that. A task was at hand, and she had a woman to impress.

"I think I've got a plan," Noela said shortly after they had finished scouting and were now, ironically enough, hiding at the back of the Jarl's Palace since it was right beside a couple of large rocks that offered a good spot to spy on their target without being seen.

"Oh? Do tell," answered Astrid, her eyes alight.

Noela shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I want this to be a surprise. For you," she added, a strange feeling of bashfulness sweeping over her.

Astrid seemed surprised by that. "My dearest, I gladly accept. I expect nothing less from the likes of you," she responded in her characteristic sultry tone.

The evening sun finally set and as dusk approached, Noela got into position. She had decided that the best spot to do this was right where they had hidden behind the rocks, which gave them a good view of Beitild and one of her workers, an old man who she seemed to enjoy berating and who had spent the last few hours shovelling coal into a smelter that was right outside Iron-Breaker Mine.

Since it was almost dark now, Noela was sure that Beitild and her worker were going to finish work soon. So, she had to act now—she had no idea what the woman's movements would be after that and if she was going to go somewhere crowded like the inn or straight home.

They could wait, but Noela was keen on wrapping this up as soon as possible. Waiting around was not a strength of hers, as she was prone to growing anxious and restless the longer she waited.

She was just waiting for the right second. Mainly, it was citizens on the footpath that was essentially right beside the smelter, and also the guard outside the Jarl's place.

It had probably been a quarter of an hour and the ideal moment had still not come, when the guard finally left his post for one reason or another and entered the palace. The road also happened to be deserted at this time, less and less people wandering round now that it was dark, and Noela quickly moved out of cover, aiming her right palm at the target.

Quickly, she let loose a ball of red magicka, the Illusion spell ripping through the air and toward the unsuspecting woman.

Her worker had his back to them as he was offloading a fresh shovel of coal into the smelter, but Beitild saw the light come.

However, it was too fast, and she couldn't dodge in time, and Noela sighed in relief as her spell hit her square in the chest.

Beitild staggered, her body absorbing the red light immediately. In the next second, her eyes had grown wild, and she swiftly withdrew the pickaxe she had at her belt.

"By Sithis, this is going to be good," Astrid said lowly into Noela's ear as the mage returned back to their hiding spot behind the rocks.

Hands sweating slightly in anticipation, Noela held her breath as she saw Beitild raise the pickaxe and bring it down over the old man's head.

He fell to the ground in an instant, his head wound staining the snow a deep red in the darkening light. Noela couldn't tell if he was dead or just unconscious.

Just then, another citizen appeared around the corner from the side of the city that housed the inn. Noela, knowing how this was going to play out, watched with bated breath as Beitild's eyes landed on the middle-aged woman, who was carrying a basket of unknown goods.

Noela could feel Astrid tense up beside her as Beitild swung the pickaxe again at the unlucky woman, and she fell to the ground with a gash in her stomach, emitting a loud scream at the same time.

With the alarm now in the air, Noela heard shouts and cries in the distance, and within a few moments citizens and guards swarmed the scene, seeing the Frenzied woman and the injured body of her victim at her feet.

It was difficult to see now that there were so many people blocking the target, but there must've been at least four guards now taking Beitild on, and she didn't stand a chance with just a pickaxe; in fact, Noela thought that she had done well to defend herself given that she was now using it as a shield.

But it didn't take long for one of the guard's strikes to hit home. Beitild fell, having been stabbed in the gut, and began bleeding out heavily, a dark pool of blood growing rapidly in size from under her and covering the icy footpath.

The air was still full of confusion, shouting and even crying. A couple of children were at the scene, and one of them was a little girl that was wailing in distraught.

Noela waited for the people to clear somewhat before she could see Beitild properly without the hindrance of bodies moving about, and once she got a clear view it was evident that her target was now dead.

Astrid moved beside her. "It's done," she said with satisfaction. "The last contract is completed."

They crept back to the outskirts of the city where they were not in danger of being overheard.

"Well, Noela, this calls for celebration," she continued once they had stopped. "You also killed an extra two people, which, depending on how you want to see that, is either a bonus or a slip up. I'd consider it the former."

Noela could barely see her face in the dark. "The other two are dead? Are you sure they're not just unconscious?"

"From where they were struck? I'd wager a pretty low chance of survival, even if they did get help. But, that doesn't matter. The point is, you've successfully completed your training, Noela, and I want to celebrate with you. What do you say we go to the inn, somewhere warm and dry with a hearty meal? Even if I am a Nord I'd rather be inside on this night."

Noela stared at her with incredulity. "Are you crazy? We just killed one, or maybe, three people? It'd be insane to go to the inn!"

She was even more surprised when Astrid laughed, "Even more reason to go now, isn't it? No one saw us, no one saw you cast Frenzy, we have zero witnesses. It'd be interesting to hear what the dear old citizens of Dawnstar are discussing tonight, wouldn't it? Likely… amusing."

Noela couldn't believe Astrid. This seemed foolish, and completely unnecessary. "Why don't we just head home now? Why stick around and be in danger of getting caught?"

"Well, it _is_ late and we really do need somewhere to stay for the night, unless you want to sleep in the freezing cold?" Astrid asked reasonably. "And we won't be caught, Noela, I thought you'd have more backbone for this."

Well, now that she had said _that_…

"It's not a matter of _backbone_, but you're right, it's really cold, and my Breton blood can't take it much longer," Noela conceded, and they started off toward the inn.

* * *

As they stepped over the threshold into Windpeak Inn, Noela began to feel something akin to butterflies in her stomach. They were entering what appeared to be a very crowded inn, as if the entirety of Dawnstar were packed into this one small building.

Astrid held the door open for her as she entered, and as it shut behind them, trapping out the cold and the light snowfall that had now begun, the two Dark Brotherhood assassins gazed about the room at the many patrons either standing around, eating dinner or drinking.

The inn was an explosion of buzzing conversation. Noela was glad to see that nobody had seemed to notice them enter, but that soon turned to anxiety as she began to feel the atmosphere of the room.

There were heated voices, people making exclamations in tones of disbelief and shock, and Noela could distinctly see a number of people who were distraught and some even in tears.

A woman sat in the corner of the room with her child in her arms, who couldn't have been more than five, and though she was trying to console her crying son she herself dabbed at her eyes with a soggy handkerchief that looked like it was no longer of much use.

Another man was keeling over, looking like he wanted to vomit, though he looked more sick than drunk, the lack of any tankard in his hand.

On the opposite side of the room toward the counter was a brown-haired woman in miner's clothes, sobbing loudly to her companion.

And almost every table was occupied with people talking in urgent tones, the air hanging thick and heavy, an unpleasant vibe permeating the entire room.

Noela suddenly felt sick too.

"Shall we get dinner?" Astrid asked her before pointing to an empty table a few feet from them. "There's a spare table there."

Noela nodded vaguely and her mentor made for the counter, presumably to order them some food. Noela headed for the table, and sat down slowly.

She couldn't help looking at all the distressed citizens in the inn.

Words poured into her ears from all over the room, and she didn't know if she'd ever felt sicker.

"_Worst day in all of Dawnstar's history."_

"_Blood on the streets, three people dead."_

"_Dreadful woman finally cracked it and killed him."_

"_It was frightful…"_

A face moved into her view and Noela blinked, realising that Astrid had returned and was sitting opposite her.

"Are you alright?" the Nord asked. "You look terrible."

Her words sounded so distant to Noela, the mage shook her head but it just pounded heavily. She had a huge migraine.

"I'm uh, not feeling so well," Noela managed to say, her eyes finding it hard to focus on Astrid. "I think I'm going to rest," she said, forcefully getting herself up and staggering through the crowded tables and toward the counter.

"_Beitild went crazy!"_

"_What's the world coming to?"_

"_Our children are not safe…"_

"Can I help you?" asked a man.

Noela leaned against the counter, not realising that she was already at her destination.

The man coughed impatiently.

"I—want a room, please," she said, and haphazardly placed ten coins on the counter.

The buzzing of voices continued in her ears. "Alright, I'll show you to your room," said the innkeeper, and headed for the right side of the inn.

Noela walked slowly after, passing the brown-haired woman who was now being comforted by her friend.

"It's okay, Ignir, you couldn't have done anything…"

The woman cried harder. "If only I had gotten there sooner Beitild wouldn't be dead. I could've stopped her!"

Her friend patted her arm. "Your shift hadn't ended yet…"

"Here we are," said the innkeeper, stopping outside the room nearest the counter. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure you've heard the news, haven't you? Not sure anyone's going to get any sleep tonight," he said, shaking his head. "Horrible, and from one of our own. Whoever would've known… Anyway, I'll leave you be."

He handed her the key and returned to the counter. Noela unlocked the room and went in silently, shutting the door behind her.

The piece of wood did little to block the outside noise and the chatter. And the awful sound of the crying woman that had now progressed to a wail.

Staggering toward the bed, Noela collapsed onto it face down, feeling an uncontrollable surge of something foreign rise up within her.

As the noise penetrated the door, she felt her shoulders begin to shake. The uneasy feeling she had felt since the morning had multiplied a hundredfold, and she clapped her hands over her ears so she didn't have to hear anything anymore.

She didn't know what was going on.

Before she knew it, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time.

The sting and burn of her eyes as water clouded over them, salty liquid spilling out the corners and rolling down her cheeks.

_Tears._

_Frickin' tears._

Noela wiped them away hastily, feeling anger begin to boil in the pit of her stomach.

This was stupid.

Though, she had no idea what 'this' even was.

Why in the world was she crying?

A thousand images flashed back at her, distinct faces taking turns to swim across the vision of her mind.

The face of each victim.

She trembled as her hands gripped the bed covers tightly.

The face of each of _her_ victims.

She felt her chest burn in synchronicity with the sounds coming from outside, like there was a connection between what she felt, and what the people outside were feeling.

She wasn't daft enough to _not _understand what was going on.

Somehow… _guilt_ had finally gotten to her.

Noela clenched her fists, and thought back to the morning three days ago, when it had all formally begun. When her training, or rather, her 'killing spree', a more apt way to describe it, had begun.

She had managed to add another three people to the tally of dead bodies she had personally sent to the otherworld—or the Void—as she was meant to call it, and an extra two on top of that. That brought her total to five. And of course with the Khajiit and Grelod, that made seven.

_Seven_ people, that she had killed. Seven _citizens_.

She knew there was no going back now. She knew, that whatever sins she had committed had now completely barred her from the afterlife of eternal bliss and celebration in Sovngarde, the land she was once promised.

Noela felt her nails dig into her palms as she realised with extreme frustration and regret that she had inadvertently doomed herself to a future in the Void, in the domain of the Dread Lord. That she would serve him for the rest of all eternity.

Never mind that she had saved the world as the Dragonborn. She knew, deep inside, that she had crossed into a world of no return.

She was now, officially, a professional murderer.

Tears continued to leak down Noela's face as it occurred to her that that wasn't even what was truly eating at her. She didn't care about herself enough to give a true rat's ass about where she ended up in her afterlife. If she had cursed her soul to the Void, she'd find a way to survive and endure.

Rather, it was the fact that she now knew the answer to the sole question she had been asking herself. The whole reason she had joined the Dark Brotherhood in the first place.

Her thoughts strayed back to earlier in the morning when this feeling had all begun. That Astrid had described her as 'sick' had somehow really gotten to her, if she was completely honest with herself.

The Nord was correct. Now that Noela finally allowed herself time to reflect back on everything that had happened over the last few days since they had journeyed out from Falkreath... she knew, beyond a doubt, that she was not adverse to it.

To murder, to the fact that she could kill in cold blood, the fact she could take innocent life.

But… was she _really_ a murderer?

Yes, of course she was, she already knew that. The true question was: _Did she enjoy it_?

Noela gave herself a few moments to think hard about the question, the one question that for some reason, held so much weight for her.

She briefly wondered why she cared.

She didn't think she even deserved to judge herself like she was any other member of the living. She knew since she was a child, that she was not a good person.

Her heart beat behind her ribcage as she pondered, deeply, what the answer was. She sat up on the bed and closed her eyes, thinking. Searching. _Feeling_. What were her feelings?

As a loud knock on the door rattled her out of her thoughts, the answer came to her like a lightning bolt flash of insight.

She couldn't stop the sudden influx of emotions that without warning, crashed over her and her eyes pooled up once again, the tears flowing out stronger than ever.

She looked up in alarm as the door opened and Astrid walked into the room.


	6. Revelations

**Revelations:**

**Chapter 6: Revelations**

There was not a second to hide her face as her mentor marched into the room, and closed the door with a snap.

Noela, her heart jumping out of her chest, looked through clouded eyes at Astrid's back as she closed the door, and Noela took the brief chance she had to swipe away her tears.

"I came to check on you," Astrid began, turning around once the wood was firmly back in place, blocking out the majority of the sound from outside. "Are you ill?"

Noela could feel her eyes trying to meet hers but the mage averted her gaze, sure that she was about to be discovered, crying.

How embarrassing.

"No," Noela said, before hesitating. "Actually, yes…" she corrected, and cleared her throat, uncertain about how to proceed.

What in the world was she going to say? She couldn't think of anything.

Astrid walked over to the bed and sat on its edge. Noela inwardly squirmed at the proximity. The last thing she wanted right now was company.

"I just needed some time alone," Noela said, not looking at the woman. "To process... stuff."

The green eyes of the Dark Brotherhood leader seemed to burn into her, and Noela could feel her face beginning to heat up, out of either embarrassment, or awkwardness, or perhaps both, she wasn't sure.

Astrid didn't say anything for almost half a minute and appeared to be observing her, from what Noela could see out of her peripheral vision. But then curiosity got to her and Noela finally looked up.

As if that were the cue she'd been waiting for, Astrid said, "Something's bothering you."

Noela held the woman's gaze but didn't respond. She didn't know how to voice her feelings. Heck, she didn't even understand what they were, and she was never one to openly share her troubles with anybody, let alone the person who was in fact, her boss.

Astrid waited for a long moment before she said out of nowhere, "'Just how did the great and good Dragonborn, _saviour_ of our world, come to be a cold-blooded killer and monster?' Is it something along those lines?"

Noela stared at her blankly for a second, before her eyes widened in surprise and she blurted, "What? You _know_?"

Astrid smirked, "_What_ do I know?"

"That I'm the—the…"

"Dragonborn?" the Nord finished for her. "Of course we know, my dear. The Dark Brotherhood knows everything."

"Of course…" Noela muttered under her breath. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised; they'd even known her name.

Astrid winked, before turning serious and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "Sister, you can't deny who you are, I hope you realise that. It only causes undue suffering, on your part, and that is dangerous. It can cost you your life." The look of concern on her features was somewhat… warming.

She seemed to be waiting for a response, and Noela shook her head. "No, you don't get it, I'm _not_ like this, I'm not a killer. I'm not _evil._" The mage placed a hand over her heart. "Truly. I've forever been a thief, but that's about as low as I will go."

Astrid frowned and Noela was sure she had, stupidly, just offended the leader. She was about to spew out an apology but Astrid just scoffed. "In that case a future in the Thieves Guild might've been more suited to you. But then… you did take it upon yourself to murder someone out of the good of your own heart, so you tell me. From what I see, a killer is a killer. And you've willingly killed a whole bunch of people since then." She gave a dark chuckle. "But believe what you will, sister."

The Nord got up off the bed and turned to the door, and Noela was sure she was about to leave. But her words had stung and Noela, already in her fragile state, couldn't stop the fresh batch of tears that leaked from her eyes and down her face.

The other woman looked back, and surprise, then shock, made its way into her expression as she froze and Noela saw her eyes trace the teardrops that were rolling down her cheeks.

Noela sat there on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees, looking like a lost and pathetic child. She couldn't decide if she was more angry at herself for behaving like a _loser_, or at Astrid for pretty much saying what she didn't want to hear. Or even worse, the underlying sense of dread that the woman was correct.

A couple more seconds ticked by and Noela once again wished she'd be left alone, when abruptly and completely unexpectedly, she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her.

Noela stiffened in shock as the familiar scent of red mountain flowers entered her nostrils; that strangely, comforting smell._

"Shh," said Astrid, as Noela felt fingers stroking through her hair. Her scalp seem to freeze over and Noela instinctively wanted to shove the woman off for daring to even touch her. But at the same time…

Before she knew it, she had leaned into the embrace, her head resting against the Nord's chest. From the surprise of the unexpected hug, her tears had stopped. But as the scent lulled her back into her feelings, Noela was reminded why Astrid was comforting her in the first place.

"I know I'm not a good person," Noela whispered.

The other woman's strokes stopped for a moment. Then, she resumed. "Does it matter?"

Noela bit her lip, unsure how to express the turmoil that had been eating at her since the morning. "Well, doesn't it? I mean, murdering people… that's got to make you the worst of the worst."

Astrid let go of her and held her at arm's length. Noela saw something burn in her eyes. "You know, you've said that a couple of times now. Don't you realise that what you're saying about yourself reflects exactly how you think of your new family, and of me? If this is what you think of the Dark Brotherhood…"

Noela's eyes widened, wondering what the end of that sentence was going to be. But, the Nord's eyes drifted to the curtained window that hid the night sky outside, and she let her words trail.

Noela shook her head again. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said, biting her tongue. It was, after all, rather stupid to ask a fellow murderer to comfort her through her feelings of guilt about having done precisely what murderers were supposed to do.

"But, I do understand," Astrid sighed, her gaze returning to the mage. "I've gone through the same thing too, you know, all those years ago."

Noela glanced up, a sense of relief flooding through her. She of course, did not intend to offend the Dark Brotherhood, and certainly not Astrid. She was sure that she could even be killed for it. "You've gone through, _this_?" asked Noela, not really sure what she was referring to.

"Yes," replied the Nord. "This sense of right and wrong you are feeling, I suppose you'd call it guilt, this tug of good and bad inside. It's—actually normal, a common obstacle to overcome. Many of your brothers and sisters have been through the same."

"Have they?"

"Well, of course. It's only natural. The first time's always the hardest, either before, during, or in retrospect, for most of us anyway. We didn't all have it easy like you," Astrid said with a coy smile. "You seem to have had no issues with what you did to that orphanage woman, don't you?"

The mage frowned in confusion. "As I said before, I don't consider that a murder because she _did_ deserve to die."

"And what makes you think you have the right to make that judgement?" asked the Nord. "A murder is still a murder, despite whatever reasons you had for choosing to commit it."

Noela sighed. She knew Astrid was right. She wasn't going to dispute the fact that killing Grelod had been murder. "But, I don't feel bad about that."

Astrid seemed to be in thought. "When then, did you start feeling 'bad' about murder? When was _your_ 'first time'?"

"Well…" Noela said as her mind drifted back. "I would have to say, at the shack."

"Really?" Astrid expressed in surprise. "When I asked you to kill one of the hostages?"

"Yes," Noela confirmed, bowing her head. She looked up again to see the other assassin peering intently at her.

"But you know what? It doesn't make sense. If you were so against it, why did you obey me and kill when I ordered you to? And why have you continued to do so since then? Surely this 'guilt' of yours, is not true guilt, or a true sense of right and wrong, otherwise you would have never done it all in the first place."

For a moment, Noela was speechless, and she gulped, unsure whether she agreed with this. "I killed in the shack, because otherwise you would have killed me. It was my only way out—"

"No," Astrid interrupted. "You could have chosen to fight me, and yet you didn't. Really, the powerful Dragonborn wasn't game enough to fight a lowly assassin?" She laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

Suddenly, Noela felt pissed off and she narrowed her eyes. "You poisoned me, remember? And stripped me of all my clothes and weapons. And left me without a means to fight. Killing a hostage was my only choice."

"And that was a choice that you made, my dearest. There is _always _a choice, no matter what you do."

The younger woman shook her head in disagreement. "Look, _you're_ the one that put me in that position, and I wasn't about to commit suicide and fight you when I know I didn't have much of a chance of winning. I did what I could to get out of that situation alive."

Astrid smirked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that incident has left you more than a little sore, my dear."

Noela glared at her. She was right, but there was no way Noela was going to admit it.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're not feeling sappy and sorry for yourself anymore. Anger is always better than depression, because it forces action. And here, this should cheer you up considerably." Astrid withdrew a coin purse and held it out in her palm. "Your very first paycheck with the Dark Brotherhood."

Noela eyed the bulging purse in her hand, then swiped it out of her grasp and tucked it deep into a pocket of her robes.

Astrid chuckled, "I take it you're still a part of us, then."

"Of course. I wasn't going to do all that work for nothing," Noela quipped emotionlessly.

"That's what I want to hear. Now, I'm going to go outside to book myself a room or do you still need comforting?" the Nord asked with a healthy dose of mockery.

"I never needed any comforting," Noela replied coldly.

Astrid shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Noela watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her, and the mage was alone again. She also noticed that it was a lot quieter outside, now. It seemed the inn's patrons had gone to bed, or back home if they weren't staying at the inn, and the silence now left her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

The silence didn't last long, however, as only a minute later, her door opened again and Astrid returned.

"Well, Noela, seems like there are no spare beds, so I'm sharing with you," she announced.

It irked Noela that she didn't even ask if that was okay with her.

"The bed's big enough for two, so I hope you're looking forward to snuggling. The temperature's kind of good for that, wouldn't you say? Not that I need any warmth, so consider it a favour I'm doing for you."

She shut the door with a snap and Noela stared at her in disbelief for the words that had just poured from her mouth.

"_I'm _the one having to share _my _bed with you!" Noela exclaimed when the Nord walked over.

There was a look of extreme smugness on Astrid's face that Noela wanted to wipe clean off. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't get all pouty with me," the Nord said as she pulled off her boots and started to remove her armour.

Noela wasn't sure if she should look away or anything but she retained her expression of incredulity. A part of her also registered that this was the first time they were sharing a room together, and for some reason she was starting to feel a bit nervous about it.

As the pieces of armour collected on the floor, Noela looked away out of courtesy because, well, that's something she would appreciate if their positions were reversed. But then, she remembered that Astrid had already seen her in nothing but her smallclothes and she felt that so very familiar sense of anger and bitterness. Rebelliously, almost violently, she turned back to the Nord and forced herself to watch her undress.

It was only fair.

And then, her eyes went wide. Astrid had stripped down to her undergarments and for the first time, Noela saw the Dark Brotherhood leader's full form.

She didn't think she'd ever seen a woman with a body as lean and athletic as her's. Her skin was youthful, smooth, and almost spotless despite the fact that she wasn't exactly young. Though Noela had noticed her toned muscles beneath her armour the day she had met her, now she could see without.

Her physique was certainly impressive. She was, simply put, breathtaking. Noela's mind briefly flitted to Arnbjorn and a thought crossed her mind that he was lucky to have someone as beautiful as Astrid as a wife. But then, she suddenly felt irritated and stopped her train of thought.

Astrid then turned about and was coming over to the bed, and Noela snapped out of it before she'd be caught staring.

Noela remained still as Astrid attempted to clamber under the covers, but Noela was sitting on top of them and she couldn't get in.

"Aren't you getting undressed?" the Nord asked her.

"Er… right," replied Noela and she hopped off the bed, kicked off her shoes and untied her robes.

"Oh, it's nice and warm under here," commented Astrid and Noela glanced over her shoulder to see she was all cosy under the sheets.

"Yeah, I warmed it up for you," muttered Noela as the cloth slipped off her shoulders. She decided to leave on the tunic she wore under her robes though, but took off the pants. Subconsciously, she didn't want to give the other woman the satisfaction of seeing her in her smallclothes again, though perhaps it was silly to even think it.

"Anyway, what's happening tomorrow, are we returning to Falkreath?" Noela asked, wanting the strange tension she was feeling either in herself, or in the room, to dissipate.

Green eyes met hers. "Well, I have further business to attend to, so I won't be returning to Falkreath just yet," Astrid replied. "If you were in a hurry to get home and rest though, you can return first."

Noela hung her robes on the chair by the wall, and strode to the bed.

Astrid scooted over to the other side of the bed to make space for her. She lifted the bedcovers which were a couple of hides of skin and fur, and the mage slowly got in.

Noela felt more awkward than ever. She could feel her ears redden, and she didn't know if it was the fact that she was in bed with her boss or that it was because her boss was attractive or even the fact that she was sharing a bed with a woman again, that was making her feel this way.

When she had journeyed with Lydia as the Dragonborn, they'd often had to share a bed together, so in way, she was used to it. But, that hadn't been in ages. And besides, they had reason to…

"Tomorrow I'm headed for Riften. You could tag along, if you want," said Astrid.

Noela didn't realise she had closed her eyes and she reopened them to discover the Nord was rather close.

Her heart seemed to jump a foot out of her chest and she hastily turned the other way. She was sure her face was the colour of a tomato.

"So, do you want to come?" the Nord asked.

"Sure," Noela mumbled into the sheets. _Get a grip, Noela_, she told herself. _Why are you acting weird?_ The mage allowed herself a few deep breaths. Somehow, she was feeling extremely uncomfortable and she had no idea why.

"Wh—why are you going to Riften?" Noela managed to say once her brain started working again.

"Hmm?" It appeared that Astrid had almost drifted off to sleep. "I'm going—to see an old friend. In the Thieves Guild. We have"—there was an audible yawn—"business to discuss."

"The Thieves?" Noela's head whipped back to the Nord who now, conveniently, had _her _eyes closed.

"Yes," said Astrid. "The Dark Brotherhood has close ties with the Thieves in Riften…"

The room was dim, the only light source a couple of candles on the opposite side of the room. Now that Astrid was half asleep, Noela took the chance to study the Nord a little closer. Her eyes moved from her face, to her jawline, and down the wonderfully sculpted flesh that was her body.

And then she knew, on this strange day where revelations were striking her one after the other, the reason why she was feeling so awkward.

Noela swallowed. The last thing she wanted was to lust after an unavailable person, the _one_ person that she now had to answer to.

This wasn't her follower, this wasn't Lydia, and she did not hold the power here.

As if the day hadn't been hard enough on her already, now she had _this_ new feeling to deal with.

She exhaled, trying to ignore the scent of mountain flowers, that natural fragrance that rolled off the other woman and drifted beneath the sheets.

Why did Astrid have to smell like red mountain flowers? Noela's favourite, god damn alchemy ingredient. Not for its smell, but the fact that it was darn useful in making magicka potions. The potion that was most imperative to her as a mage.

She gazed at the woman's features, thin strands of blonde hair falling over the woman's face, her hair a little messy from days of travelling. An attractive kind of messy. A tough kind of messy.

Noela sighed, thinking that it had been a while since she'd found _anyone_ attractive.

_This sucks_, she thought bitterly.

She turned on her side to face completely the other way, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was beating rapidly and that the heat from her body was a lot hotter than it should be.

There was no way she would be able to sleep tonight.

* * *

Noela was very groggy when she awoke and her eyes fluttered open slowly. It took her more than a few seconds to even remember what day it was and the events that had transpired the day prior.

"Finally, you're awake," came a voice from the other side of the room.

Noela lifted her head to see Astrid seated on the chair where she had hung her robes. The assassin was half-dressed, and Noela's eyes flew open as she remembered her 'revelations' of the night before.

She felt her face heating up again and quickly buried it within the hides that were the bedcovers.

"Do you always sleep in or are you just exhausted from all the training?" Astrid asked her. "You're lucky I'm not in a hurry today, or else I might've left without you."

Noela only heard half of what the other woman was saying as her mind tried to regain some sense of stability. She steadied herself. "I'm just—tired, I guess."

"Fair enough, considering your breakdown yesterday. Well, have you rested enough?"

All of a sudden, Noela threw off the covers and bounced off the bed. She did_ not_ want to remember her silly breakdown.

She bounded toward Astrid and the chair she was sitting on, snatching her robes off the back of the chair.

The Nord raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, that was much faster than I expected. And can you get my armour from the floor? Behind you, my dear."

Noela spun around and yanked the bits of armour off the floor, thrusting them at the other woman.

Dressing herself as fast as she could, the mage stormed out of the room and the inn, feeling irritation rising quickly within her.

Outside, the morning light illuminated the snow-laden Dawnstar in quite a beautiful way, but Noela was not in the headspace to appreciate it right now.

She waited for Astrid to come out, and when she did Noela said, "I think I'll head back to Falkreath first. I'm rather tired."

The Nord frowned at her. "That's disappointing, Noela, I thought you wanted to go to Riften. I was looking forward to introducing you to the Thieves, since you were a thief yourself."

Noela placed her hands on her hips. "Actually, I've already met them. Had to do a little job for Brynjolf when I was the Dragonborn, so…"

"Really?" Astrid asked in interest. "So you've met the whole gang?"

"No, not really. I only spoke to Brynjolf, and the bartender I think."

"Well, that's interesting," Astrid said with an amused smile. "I would've thought he'd have recruited you then and there, if your thieving skills are as good as you say they are."

Noela scratched her head. "I don't think I've ever said anything about my thieving ability, but you're right. He _did _try to recruit me. The only problem was, I had other things to do. And even if I didn't, Lydia would've never let me join, anyway."

"Lydia?"

"My housecarl. I'm a Thane of Whiterun," explained Noela.

"Of course you are," Astrid said with a nod. "I suppose I'll get going then. Long travel ahead."

"Wait," said Noela slowly. "I think I'll come." Despite her spur of the moment decision to want to get as far away from Astrid as fast as possible so she could have some breathing room, now Noela was sort of sad to part ways with the Nord. She didn't know when they'd get the chance to travel together like this again.

Astrid was looking at her like she was strange. "You're acting a bit hare-brained today, sister. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Couldn't be better," Noela replied, though the butterflies in her stomach said otherwise.

* * *

It was afternoon when they reached Windhelm, stopping at the stables just outside the city to book a carriage which would take them direct to Riften. Their driver, a Nord by the name of Alfarinn, was sitting up front with the horse while the two women rode in the back, sitting opposite each other on the carriage's wooden benches.

Noela had barely spoken since the morning, and was about to start up a conversation just to not appear like she was ignoring Astrid or anything when the Nord got there first.

"It'll likely take another twenty-four hours until we arrive, so do relax, or take a nap on the floor," said Astrid, gesturing to their feet.

Noela nodded, letting the lip of her mage hood hide her face. She had opted to keep her hood up today, not because she was particularly cold, but because it offered some sort of a—mental sanctuary.

Truthfully, she had not felt well since awakening and the uncomfortable squirming of her insides didn't seem to want to go away. She tried to think of other things, like thoughts of Whiterun, and Breezehome. But then her mind settled on Lydia and she was reminded of what they once had and then her thoughts went full circle again, landing on the different Nord that now sat across from her.

Noela sighed inwardly and directed her attention to the road they were traversing, trying to let the sound of the horse's hooves on the pavement distract her somehow.

It didn't last a minute.

"Sister, where is your housecarl now? In Whiterun?"

Exhaling, Noela reluctantly met eyes with the Nord. "Yeah, she's at my house. I'm not sure what's she's up to nowadays because I haven't been home for a while."

"Is she not supposed to serve you, as Thane? Accompanying you or something?"

The mage shook her head. "No, well—she wanted to. But I ordered her to stay in Whiterun. After we'd defeated Alduin we were just running about doing errands for the Jarl… but I got bored with that. I missed stealing, so I just left one night and haven't been in contact since."

"I see," nodded Astrid. "So she doesn't know you've joined the Brotherhood," she said, keeping her voice low so the driver couldn't hear them.

"No."

"Would your disappearance not have alarmed the city? They don't think you've been… _kidnapped_, or anything?"

Noela expressed a sound that was halfway between a scoff and a snigger. "_Right_… because I _was_ kidnapped. Perhaps I should inform them that their Thane has been taken hostage by the Dark Brotherhood."

Astrid raised her eyebrows, clearing knowing it was a joke but at the same time, she looked wary.

"Don't worry, Astrid, I'd never betray you like that," Noela said reassuringly. "I think I've taken too much of a liking to you to do that," she added honestly. Well, it was a little bit of sucking up, but, on a whole deeper level, there was now another meaning…

The leader's expression changed from suspicion and disapproval to one of perplexity. Then she blinked and shook her head. "Just—be careful how you say things around here, sister, or we might misunderstand one another. I trust you, of course, but don't make me doubt myself. I'm sure you would say the same to your housecarl."

Noela softened her features into one conveying comfort. "I would never do anything to harm you, I promise."

Astrid smiled, "Good."

"And in terms of my housecarl… I trust Lydia completely. I know she's got my back for life. If there were one person I could truly count on, it'd be her. She'd happily die for me."

"That sounds like—one committed woman. And how are you certain she'd never stab you in the back?"

The mage shrugged. "Because I know her. She's the most moral and righteous person I think I've ever met, sometimes annoyingly so. She'd never stop shutting up about what we should or shouldn't do, what was right and what wasn't. Sadly, that was what caused our divide. She heavily disapproved of my thieving, you see, and sooner or later we started arguing and fighting a lot."

"Sounds like a complicated relationship," commented Astrid. "I suppose you're quite fond of her despite your differences, though."

"Yes," Noela nodded. "She always had my back and eventually I could no longer resist, I mean, you never see that amount of commitment and loyalty anywhere, at least in the world I know. I fell hard for her, and we were together for a time, in the closest sense of the word. But in the long run, there was no way it would've worked. Our worldviews had little crossover and so I ended things."

Noela took a deep breath. Astrid had an entertained expression on her face and she said, "You were together with this woman?"

The mage gave a brief nod.

"Though rare, it is certainly not unheard of, sister. As Thane and housecarl, you were bound to grow close."

There was a long moment of silence where Astrid seemed to be lost in thought, and Noela took the chance to ask something she'd been wondering. "What about you, Astrid? How did you meet Arnbjorn?"

"Me?" asked the Nord in surprise. "Well, I joined the Dark Brotherhood in my teens, and after a few years Arnbjorn joined as well. He came from the Companions, in Whiterun, you must know them. Although, his 'methods' didn't quite adhere to their standards, and he found the Brotherhood a much more fitting place for his ways."

"You joined the Dark Brotherhood in your teens?"

Astrid nodded. "I was a bit of a rogue, killing as I pleased. Eventually the Brotherhood took notice and recruited me."

"Wait," said Noela, confused. "How did you even get started, you know… _killing_?" she said in a whisper.

The Nord gave a warm smile. "I had an uncle and he made unwanted advances, I think I was about twelve at the time. So, I killed him."

"You killed… your _uncle_?" Noela asked in disbelief.

"Indeed, sister. The slime ball had come home one night, drunk, as usual, and even with my cousins and my aunt in the house he dared to come into my room and attempt to, you know…"

"He tried to rape you?"

Astrid gave something of a grimace. "I presume so, though I killed him before he could lay a finger on me. He was the kind that would stare relentlessly at women, young girls too, obviously, and his hands liked to… wander, especially under the dinner table. So I knew it was only a matter of time before he attempted to, well, take it a step further."

"How in Oblivion did you manage to kill a fully grown man, at your age?"

"Well, it wasn't particularly difficult, he _was_ drunk, Noela. I simply evaded as he tried to grab me and drove my dagger into his side before he could even pivot about for a second attempt, the lumbering fool."

"So you were already trained in the fighting arts?" the mage asked, looking impressed.

"Not really. I did have a keen interest in daggers though, and the one I used to kill my uncle was one I had taken from the belt of a traveller out in the marketplace. I imagined various ways I could use it, and I suppose I just went with my instincts when it came time to defend myself."

"And what happened after, did your family believe you when you told of what your uncle had tried to do?"

Astrid shook her head. "I didn't stick around to find out. I knew the chances were slim that I'd be let off the hook, and I wasn't about to risk being locked up for being a crazy child killer. So I ran away. And learned to survive, as one does."

Noela nodded in understanding. "Were you not traumatised by what had transpired? I mean, he _was _your uncle, your family. And you were but a girl."

"It's true, that for a time, I did feel like I was the worst person in the world. I remember waking up the first few mornings, having slept in an empty crate or a bush in someone's garden, still covered in my uncle's blood. I had not come across a river yet to wash it off. But when the time came and my body was clean again, I discovered that I missed it. Somehow, during those weeks that I didn't get to bathe, that scent offered me solace. As I came to terms with my new life and how I was now very truly on my own, I spent a lot of nights, huddled in a confined space, trying to keep warm. And that sense of comfort came to be associated with the scent of blood. You could even say that in death, my uncle helped me the most," laughed Astrid.

"That's—quite bizarre," said Noela. "So _that_ was the catalyst for the next kill? You wanted blood on you again?" As the words left Noela's mouth she felt a slight twinge of arousal, which was… rather strange, to say the least.

"Well, I think it was more complicated than that. Somehow, as the days went by, I think I developed a somewhat skewed perception of the real version of events. The real version was that I was probably relieved after I'd killed my uncle, because well, he could no longer harm me. But for some reason my mind thinks that I actually felt elation, or so that's how I kept feeling when he would appear in my dreams time and again. And each time in my dreams when I killed him, I felt an immense satisfaction that I'm not sure was actually present when the real event happened. Does that even make sense?"

"Um, I think so," said Noela. "Or it could simply be that you _did_ feel these things in reality but in the heat of the moment you obviously couldn't process all of that so they began manifesting in your dreams as your mind tried to deal with it."

Astrid nodded slowly, "You know, I think I rather like that interpretation, Noela. That could well be true. But nevertheless, the desire to replicate that elated feeling—that was either imagined or real—became too large for me to suppress and so I knew I had to do it again, for my own sanity. I was itching to kill, just to see how I'd feel this time."

"Who did you choose?"

"A woman, a solo traveller. She was easy prey and I killed her swiftly. And then to my utmost surprise, I did get my answer, immediately and true as day. I enjoyed it beyond anything I'd ever done in my life. And so I knew…"

"So that's what you meant when you said we all go through it," said Noela, bobbing her head in thought.

"You mean what I said last night? Indeed, my dearest. We're probably a lot more similar than you know," smiled the Nord. "At least, in certain respects. After the initial doubt and the confusion, there comes clarity. And suddenly, we become aware of what we're destined to do. And so we walk that path."

"The path opposing society," added the mage. "And it's lonely, is it not?"

"Of course, my dear. But then, wasn't being the Dragonborn also lonely?"

"I suppose it was, but at that time I had Lydia, and most everyone was on my side."

"And now, you oppose the world, but remember you _do _have a family at your back."

Noela smiled. "I guess so, Astrid. I suppose I should thank you for that."

And as she gazed into her mentor's eyes, Noela knew that it had already begun. Strangely, she had found a kindred spirit in this woman, a person that was completely the opposite of Lydia. This woman, who understood her, who had gone through the same things she was still going through. It was hard to tell her heart to refrain because, for the first time in her life, she felt a true connection to another human being. And that, was hard to resist.


	7. Not a Vampire

**Not a Vampire**

**Chapter 7: Not a Vampire**

_30 Rain's Hand, 4E203_

The horse slowed to a stop, the driver pulling on the reins.

"There it is, Riften," he said, pointing to the large gate up ahead.

The two assassins climbed out of the carriage, Noela straightening up and stretching her back. After the long hours of sitting on a hard wooden carriage bench, she couldn't be happier that they were finally here.

"That was—such a long ride," whined Noela as they began walking up the path that led into the city.

"Just be thankful we didn't have to walk all this way," chuckled Astrid.

As they approached the closed gates, Noela spotted a guard standing outside, and she stopped in her tracks, a look of fear clouding her eyes.

Astrid stopped too. "What?" she asked in urgency, seeing the mage's expression. "What's the matter?"

"Um… I think I might have a bounty here," Noela began.

Confusion manifested on the Nord's features, before comprehension dawned on her. "Grelod," she stated.

Noela nodded.

"Were you seen?"

Noela thought for a moment. "Not when I killed her, no. But the children and the other woman in the orphanage—they've seen my face. The guards outside, I don't think so."

Astrid exhaled. "As long as we don't go into the orphanage or run into any of the people that _have _seen your face, we should be fine. Anyway, best find out now—but do keep your hood up."

The mage nodded and raised her arm to lower her hood just a tad more so the top part of her face was completely hidden. For once, she was glad that she wasn't tall.

When they reached the gate, the guard spoke up. "Hold there. Before I let you into Riften, you need to pay the visitor's tax."

Astrid sighed loudly. "Ask me again and I'll see to it that Brynjolf turns you in. Now, let us through."

The guard looked taken aback, before recognising her. "Oh, it's you! It's been a long time since you've visited, hasn't it?" Astrid didn't reply, and he went to open to gate, letting them in.

There was another guard on the other side of the gate who just glanced at them as they passed.

"They've been running that scam for years," commented Noela. "I remember the first time me and Lydia visited, we didn't know any better and paid it."

"It's been going on for too long, if you ask me," said Astrid. "As for your bounty, I think you're in the clear."

Noela looked over her shoulder back to the guard. "That's a relief."

Riften was how Noela had seen it last, and smelled just the same. The sun shone down brightly on the houses and despite the stink, it was a lovely day. The citizens of Riften bustled about, and the assassins walked across the bridge toward the inn before turning left, walking past the marketplace.

Astrid turned onto a path that led to another part of the city Noela had never been to. Past a manor and Mistveil Keep, into a place that resembled a garden.

"Isn't the Ratway the other way?" Noela asked, looking back toward the main part of the city.

"Hmm," said Astrid. "Yes, but do you really want to fight through all the lowlifes that live there?" Noela looked at her in confusion. "My dear, we'll take the _special _entrance. Of course, I'm not supposed to bring anybody but myself there, but, ah well, I'm sure they'll forgive me," she laughed softly.

They walked past a giant statue of Talos on the right, and toward a small cemetery. When Astrid made her way between the tombstones and to the coffin that lay under a shelter at the back of the cemetery, Noela frowned. "Their secret entrance is here?"

Astrid took a look over her shoulder to see if anybody was around, and seeing that there was nobody besides them, pressed a diamond-shaped button on the side of the coffin.

Suddenly, a loud, screeching sound of stone grinding against stone filled their ears and Noela cringed. Her eyes opened in awe as before them, a set of stone stairs materialised, leading down underground.

"Wow," the mage said.

She followed Astrid down the stairs and into the hideout of the Thieves Guild.

* * *

Once through the circular grate, the two assassins climbed down a rope ladder, before their feet finally met dirt ground.

"Here we are," Astrid said softly. "You might get a few funny looks, but just ignore them and follow me."

Noela followed the Nord through what looked like a kitchen area, various food and ingredients along the right wall, pots and pans on the shelves of the open cupboard on the left. They passed a dining table, and Noela saw the first couple of Thieves. One of them glanced up in alarm, presumably about to yell that they did not belong here, when he spotted their uniforms and settled back, narrowing his eyes.

They received a few similar looks from more of the thieves as they made their way into a large chamber, two magnificent waterfalls falling into shallow water that ran under the stone walkways and floor of the room. The smell though, gave away that this place was undeniably a sewer, and as she spotted the beds that lined the walls, Noela wondered how the members of the Thieves Guild could possibly live here comfortably.

The two women continued on in silence and they turned left, walking across a sort of bridge and headed for the corridor leading off the left side of the chamber.

Once they were in the corridor, Noela let out a breath. "They seem… a little hostile, don't you think?"

"Let's just say that some thieves don't particularly like assassins," Astrid responded simply.

They met a dead end, and Noela frowned at the Nord in confusion. She waited though, knowing there was more than met the eye, and a second later Astrid had revealed a hidden storage cabinet, or what was the back of it, sliding it open and Noela saw another passage within.

They stepped through it, and Astrid closed the trick cabinet behind them.

A familiar sight met her eyes, and Noela gasped. "We're in the Ragged Flagon!" She recognised the short corridor that they were now in that led to the Ratway Vaults, where Esbern had been in hiding.

Astrid led them out into the tavern.

"Hey! Astrid!" said a man's voice in a strong accent. "Been a while since you've visited us, 'asn't it?"

A middle-aged looking Breton was sitting at a table straight ahead of them, and he got up from his seat. Astrid continued to walk toward him and they embraced, the sight sending an usual feeling of repulsion through Noela.

"Good to see you again, Delvin."

Delvin patted Astrid on the back. "Likewise, old friend. You ought to visit us more often, I'm sure I'm not the only one that's been missin' ya." He gave a small wink.

"Is that so?" Astrid asked with a smirk. Then she looked around the tavern. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Went out for a bit, I suppose," he shrugged. Then he finally spotted Noela, who was still a way back, closer to the corridor. "Who's this?" he asked curiously.

"This—is my new recruit," said Astrid, waving for Noela to come closer. The mage did, giving the Breton a brief nod.

"I'm Noela," she said, extending her hand.

Delvin took it, giving it a firm shake. "Ah, you're a pret'y one," he said, his eyes roaming her body in a way that made her want to punch him. "Where'd you come from?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Let's try to keep this appropriate, Delvin, she's got to be half your age."

Delvin seemed to take offence. "I'm not _that_ old, Astrid. Besides, you and me, we're roughly the same age, aren't we?"

The Nord scoffed, "Hardly."

"Ah, speak for yourself," waved Delvin dismissively. "Didn't stop ya from takin' what was mine now, did it?"

Noela could practically see the flames shooting from Astrid's eyes. "I didn't _take _anything, I simply beat you to it. Don't be a sore loser."

"Ouch," said Delvin playfully, though Noela thought she could sense a bit of resentment just beneath the surface. But, she had absolutely no clue what they were talking about. "Anyway, have a seat, the both of ya. Let's catch up a lit'le."

Astrid and Noela walked over to the table he'd been sitting at, pulling out a couple more chairs.

"Drinks, Vekel!" Delvin called over to the bartender, who was busy polishing tankards behind the bar.

Noela looked around, seeing that the only other occupants of the tavern at the moment were a Redguard woman, who was sitting at the bar, and another man, tall and rough with a blond beard, that was walking the perimeter of the chamber, out across the water that also flooded much of the floor of this room.

"So, what've you been up to, Astrid? It's been months since you've visited. Too busy to visit friends now, eh? Not got anything nice for me to look at?"

"Uh," began Astrid. "Yes, I've been busy. Mostly with trying to find new recruits on top of my usual work with setting up contracts with clients. The Brotherhood is struggling just like your Guild, as I'm sure I've told you before."

Delvin scratched his chin. "Yeah, I figured as much," he said, then gazed to Noela. "But you got yourself a new one. She any good?" he asked, and Noela narrowed her eyes. She didn't particularly like that he was speaking about her like she wasn't there.

"She's absolutely wonderful," Astrid said fondly, patting Noela's shoulder as she was sitting beside her. The mage's cheeks involuntarily began to flush which was put to a sudden stop when Astrid added, "An excellent killer."

"That so?" asked Delvin, peering more closely at her. "Wait a second—are you?" Noela could see the grin that was spreading across Astrid's face. "Are you the Dragonborn?" He gaped at the mage.

Noela nodded slowly. Then she lowered her hood so he could better see her face.

"Blimey," he said in awe. "How in the name of the Gods did you get her on your side, Astrid?" he asked, eyes not leaving Noela's.

"Oh," Astrid began teasingly. "It was more luck than anything. Dearest Noela here stole one of our contracts; unintentional, I'm sure," she glanced at the mage. "I found her, intending to collect our debt, and she proved herself to me. She's the one who offed old Grelod, you know," she added, and Delvin's eyes went wide.

"No! _You—_killed her?" he asked Noela.

Noela just nodded.

Delvin continued to stare at her, shaking his head. "But you're the Dragonborn! And you committed _murder_?"

She just shrugged, not liking that the conversation was now back on the topic of her being a murderer. She said nonchalantly, "I did it for the kids. If anything, it was a good deed."

"By the Eight," he chuckled. "Wait till everyone hears this."

"Oh, don't go yapping about, Delvin," interrupted Astrid. "The last thing we want is to have Noela thrown in jail. What are the rumours, anyway? Does anyone know who killed Grelod the Kind?"

Delvin shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Think the woman that runs the orphanage now gave a description, but unless Noela sees her, don't think it's anything to worry about. Besides," he said with a wink, "I'm sure the lovely citizens of Riften are just as happy to see her dead, what with the shopkeepers always complaining about her sharp tongue. So, you did the whole of Riften a favour, Noela." He gave a smile, the wrinkles beside his eyes showing clearly.

"That was my intention," said Noela coolly, and Astrid laughed. The sound made the pit of Noela's belly flutter with a nervous sort of pleasure and she wanted to say something else that was funny, but she couldn't think of anything.

Just then, a loud creaking sound erupted from where the trick cabinet was, breaking both Noela's reverie and the silence of the Ragged Flagon. All three heads turned to see who the new arrival was.

Noela's eyes landed on the woman who had just emerged from the shadows of the corridor, and was mildly surprised to see a scowling, albeit attractive, woman with a head of platinum blonde hair walking towards their table.

The woman's eyes briefly met Noela's and the mage was briefly taken aback at her orange eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dim light of the tavern, although she was clearly no vampire. Her skin though, had a pale complexion that could rival any of the bloodsuckers that Noela had encountered.

Noela frowned. This woman was obviously an Imperial, but she didn't think she'd ever seen an Imperial with this light a skin tone before.

"Lit'le Vex," said Delvin, pulling out the spare chair beside him. "Guess who's 'ere to see ya?"

Vex then noticed Astrid, and her eyes widened in surprise. Noela thought she was just about to crack a smile or something but she just gave a courteous nod toward the Nord and sat down.

"Dearest Vex," said Astrid in a purr. "It's good to see you again."

"Been busy, have you?" responded Vex almost rudely. Or perhaps she was just curt.

"Indeed, my dear. Tough times for the Brotherhood now."

"And Astrid's just recruited a new member," said Delvin, and Vex followed his gaze onto Noela. "She managed to recruit the Dragonborn, for the love of Oblivion!"

Noela felt quite uncomfortable as Vex scrutinised her. She could also feel Astrid smiling in her direction which didn't ease her in the slightest as she felt her pulse accelerate.

"Noela, I'd like you to meet Vex," said Astrid warmly. "She's a senior member of the Thieves Guild here. And Vex," she turned to the other woman, "this is our newest member of the Dark Brotherhood."

Vex inclined her head ever so slightly and Noela said, "It's nice to meet you."

"You're the Dragonborn?" Vex asked her and the mage nodded. "No wonder you look familiar. You've been down here before."

It sounded more like a statement than a question. Noela knew she hadn't seen this woman before. If she had, she would definitely remember it. Someone who stood out so; though she was brusque, she was also rather attractive. "Have I met you before?" she asked to make sure.

The Imperial shook her head, her expression still surly. "No, but I was in the room when that big friend of yours started making a racket."

Noela raised her eyebrows. She felt a tinge of offence on behalf of Lydia, but her surprise at Vex's bluntness eclipsed that. "My apologies if my friend caused a disturbance," the mage responded politely, wondering what was up with the woman.

She looked up to see Astrid looking between them with a slight crease on her brow. Just then Vekel arrived with their drinks and he placed a tankard in front of each of them.

"Cheers!" said Delvin, and they all picked up their drinks and clanked them together.

They were taking their first sips when they were interrupted again by the trick cabinet, and this time a Nord man with red hair appeared, striding briskly towards them.

"Vex, I've been looking for you," he said with a matter of urgency. Noela recognised him immediately as Brynjolf, the one she had previously framed Madesi for. His eyes scanned the table and he looked surprised to see so many people. "Astrid, nice to see you, and…" he squinted at Noela. "D—Dragonborn?" he asked uncertainly.

"Hello, Brynjolf," answered Noela.

"By the Eight, what are you doing here?"

Vex waved her hand, "Yes, she's an assassin now. What is it you want, Brynjolf?"

He stared at Noela a few more seconds before snapping himself out of it. "Sorry," he said, clearing his throat. Then he brandished a piece of paper in his hands. "I need you, Vex, to go into town and collect—"

"If it's those debts again, get one of the newbies to do it," Vex interrupted. "They're always slacking off in there," she said pointing toward the Cistern. "I've got things I need to do."

"But," countered Brynjolf, "this is an _important_ job. We've got to send a clear message that we can't be ignored. I know it's petty to you Vex, but it's for the good of the organisation…"

Vex looked resigned and even more annoyed and opened her mouth to reply when Astrid said, "Noela can do it."

All eyes turned to the assassin. "What?" Brynjolf said.

"Noela can do the job. She's an experienced thief, and she's got a bit of free time, right Noela?" Astrid turned to her with an expression of fondness and though Noela could feel a bit of fuzziness creeping into her, she was more confused.

"Of course!" Brynjolf suddenly said, clapping his hands together and turning toward the mage. "I know you do good work lass, so if you can spare the time, I'd really appreciate it."

Vex was looking back and forth between the other three, appearing just about as confused as Noela.

"Go ahead," said Astrid encouragingly. "I'd like to see for myself how you'll handle this."

"Er—" Noela began, peering from Brynjolf to Astrid and back again. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Brynjolf unfolded his piece of paper. "We need debts collected from three citizens of Riften who owe us money. You'll find them here." He tapped the page before handing it to her. "It's not so much that we need the money, what's more important is that you get the message across that we aren't to be ignored. _But_, I don't want any of them killed. Bad for business."

Noela nodded in comprehension and tucked the paper into her pocket.

"Can you handle it?" Brynjolf asked.

"Not a problem," Noela said with confidence. It sounded easy enough.

In the corner of her eye she saw Astrid smiling widely at her while Delvin leaned forward on the table in curiosity. Vex though, was frowning and her expression conveyed that she was not convinced Noela could pull it off.

Noela was determined not to let any of them down.


	8. A Secret Arrangement

**A Secret Arrangement**

**Chapter 8: A Secret Arrangement**

Noela marched back through Riften toward the hidden graveyard entrance of the Thieves Guild, three new coin purses bouncing about in the pocket of her robes.

Collecting the debts had been a cinch, and she felt quite proud of herself to say the least. She hadn't even had to use force—a bit of intimidation was all it took.

She pressed the diamond shaped button of the coffin and cringed as the loud grinding of stone on stone again met her ears, and she took the newly exposed steps down and into the hideout.

As it was now dinnertime, there were more thieves about than before. Ignoring the strange looks and narrowed eyes she was getting, she retraced her steps back to the corridor with the trick cabinet.

Re-entering the Ragged Flagon, she discovered that it too, was more crowded. Amongst the sea of heads, she spotted Astrid and Delvin sitting at the bar, and Brynjolf conversing with the Redguard she had seen earlier. She also noted that Vex was absent, no platinum hair visible among the crowd.

She decided to report back to Brynjolf, and walked over to him and his companion. They looked up as she approached.

"How did it go?" Brynjolf asked with interest.

Noela withdrew the purses from her pocket, and placed them on the table.

"Golly, lass," he said, staring at them with big eyes. "You actually pulled it off!"

His wide smile caused Noela to return one of her own.

"How did you do it?"

"Well," she began, "I didn't touch them. Just threatened to break stuff, burn stuff, made a small burn on the counter, that sort of thing," she shrugged. "Destroyed a vase, threatened to destroy a statue…"

"I'm certainly impressed, Noela. You've proven yourself yet again. Say," he said, a thoughtful look crossing his expression. "We could really use you in our outfit. I wonder… excuse me, Tonilia."

Brynjolf got up, and took the three coin purses from the table. He gestured for Noela to follow him, and she did so. They walked over to Delvin and Astrid, who were talking rather animatedly at the bar. Noela got the feeling that Astrid was a little affected by the mead, which was something she hadn't seen before.

"Ah, Noela," she said, her cheeks a little flushed. "You're back. Were you successful?"

"She was very successful," said Brynjolf.

"That's my girl," Astrid said, grabbing Noela's arm and pulling her in for a celebratory pat on the back. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. So, what about a drink to celebrate?" She pressed a new tankard that Noela presumed was Astrid's next drink, into her hand.

Brynjolf interrupted, "There's something I want to ask you, Astrid."

"What is it?"

Brynjolf scratched his head, looking a little nervous. "I, uh, wanted to ask if we could 'borrow' Noela from time to time. She's proving to be quite useful, and extremely talented, if I may say so—"

"Absolutely not," said Astrid firmly. "Noela's a member of the Dark Brotherhood, and we know we can't cross guilds. It doesn't work well for either organisation, given the distances, too."

"But—"

"I refuse, Brynjolf, that's my final word," Astrid said, ending the discussion.

"What do you think, Noela?" Brynjolf asked the mage.

She just shrugged, "I'm afraid I don't really know, sorry. I just joined the Brotherhood, and two new 'families' might be a bit too much for me to handle."

Delvin, who had been quiet for the last few minutes, spoke up. "Oh, come on Astrid. Think about us here. We're struggling with this curse, we really need all the help we can get. Do an old friend a favour, would ya? Bryn's not asking her to join up full-time, of course she wouldn't be able to handle two guilds—"

Astrid shook her head. "You find your own recruits, Delvin, Noela's an invaluable part of _my_ family now."

"And she'll be invaluable to us too," Delvin said, continuing to reason with her. "Only when we really need the help, of course. We watch each other's backs, don't we? Haven't we done so for years?"

Noela looked over to Brynjolf, who was nodding in earnest. Astrid still didn't look convinced. "I just don't see how she'll have the time."

"We'll make it work, Astrid," said Brynjolf. "She's a good thief, you were just saying so yourself."

"I wouldn't mind helping out the Thieves now and then," Noela chipped in. "In my free time, or off-days."

Astrid looked at her like she wanted to slap her. "Really, Noela? You too? Why do you care about the Thieves Guild?" she asked in irritation.

"I don't know, but they're in a bad way down here," she shrugged. She supposed a part of her _was_ curious about working with the Thieves, now that she had given some thought to the idea.

"Please, Astrid," Delvin begged. "You care about us, don't cha? You'd want us to help you out if you were in a spot o' trouble, right?"

Finally, Astrid sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I'll let Noela help out part-time, since she herself wants to," she glared at the mage. After a second, she softened her expression. "Noela, just know that you _always_ put the Dark Brotherhood first, you understand? I'm only allowing this because I _do_ care about the Thieves Guild, and some of the people here are my close friends. We've had each other's backs for years. You got that?" she glanced around at the two men. "The Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild will always be allies. That doesn't change."

Brynjolf and Delvin nodded, and former dipping his head. "Thank you, Astrid, truly," he said.

Delvin grinned, "I knew you'd come over to our side, Astrid," he said. "Mercer'd really appreciate this too. Now," he said, turning to Noela. "We've just worked very hard to get you on our team, so you won't let us down, yeah?"

"Of course," replied Noela.

Brynjolf hugged her, and she resisted out of surprise. It caused Delvin and Astrid to burst out laughing though, and Noela grinned, the blonde Nord's smile making her insides swell like a balloon.

"I have one more favour to ask," said Brynjolf. "Can Noela stay an extra day to help us on a mission tomorrow? It's just near here, and she can head back tomorrow night."

"That's fine," said Astrid, taking a sip from her tankard. "I have to head back to the Sanctuary first thing in the morning though. So Noela," she addressed the mage, "I guess our travel ends here. I'll see you when you get back to Falkreath."

"O—of course," answered Noela, feeling a bit deflated that their time together was now over.

"Oi Astrid, aren't you running late for your appointment?" asked Delvin.

"That's right," the assassin replied, downing the rest of her drink and standing up. "Thanks, Delvin. Brynjolf, Noela," she nodded at them, before leaning in and speaking into Noela's ear. "Don't you dare fall in love with the work here," she whispered, half-threateningly, half-jokingly.

Noela gulped as her words tickled her ear and she nodded.

"Good."

They watched Astrid leave and then Brynjolf said to Noela, "I guess I'll show you around. Welcome to the Thieves Guild, lass."

* * *

Noela lay in bed that night, listening to the sound of twin waterfalls and the flowing water that ran beneath the raised floor of the Cistern. The sound of snores punctuated the continuous backdrop of falling water, but that was not what was keeping her awake.

It was the stink.

She had tried everything from wrinkling up her nose to stuffing blankets up against her face so she couldn't even breathe, but the smell of the sewer was pervasive. She was sure the blankets and sheets themselves had absorbed the very smell she was trying to avoid and so that didn't work.

Even the Thieves armour, a set of which she had been given by Tonilia, the Redguard woman who'd been in the Flagon, seemed to harbour the smell as well.

Turning over with a sigh, she instead intended to distract herself by reflecting on the day's events.

She was now, officially a member of both the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. She wasn't sure exactly how it would work, and how often she'd be called to help the Thieves, but it was nonetheless a new turn in her life. From working alone just a few years ago, she was now part of likely the two most infamous criminal organisations in Skyrim. And she intended to do her best.

Her thoughts then drifted to Astrid, and she wondered where the Nord was now. Although she knew no details of it as yet, she was looking forward to the mission Brynjolf would be giving her tomorrow. At the same time, she wanted to complete it as quickly as possible so she could return home to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary… to Astrid, as it were.

A strange sense of optimism filled her heart, and for once, she was excited about what life had in store for her.

* * *

Astrid peered up at the night sky, the moon showing from just behind a cloud.

The streets of Riften were quieter now, though not quite deserted; a straggler here and there, a couple taking an after-dinner stroll, a few citizens making their way home. And of course, the guards that constantly patrolled the streets, night and day.

She passed back through the marketplace, heading towards the northern gate, when she reached her destination. The Bee and Barb, an inn she frequented each time she visited Riften. Pushing the doors open, she let herself inside.

The inn was bright, and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. Sounds of laughter and chatter came from about the room, happy and well-fed people sitting or standing around with tankards in hand. No one paid her any attention though, too engrossed in their conversations or activities, and she made her way up the stairs to the second floor.

Here, she was met with a number of closed doors; it looked like all the rooms were taken for tonight. Still, she quickly scanned the gap beneath each door, searching for the signal.

It only took her a second to spot it; the pointy tip of a dagger, almost, but not quite, poking out from under the door. She strode toward the room.

Looking quickly over her shoulder, she knocked on the door.

"It's unlocked," answered a voice from inside.

Astrid opened the door, shutting it softly behind her. The room was quite dark, illuminated by nothing but a single candle that was on the dresser beside the bed.

And there on the bed, leaning against the wall, her fair hair gleaming in the candlelight, sat an Imperial woman with a padlock in one hand, and a lockpick in the other.

"You're late," stated the woman, not looking up as she continuously worked the lock in her hand.

"I'm afraid I got held up," Astrid explained. "How long have you been here?"

The woman shrugged, "I don't know, but it feels like an hour."

Astrid watched as the Imperial continued to dig her pick into the mechanism. Then, she suddenly tossed the padlock onto the bed, letting out a frustrated sigh.

The Nord sat down on the bed. "Aw, a poor lock got you beat?"

The Imperial shot her a glare. "_That_ particular lock, is one of the hardest I've ever come across. I'll bet you wouldn't be able to open it even if you tried every day for the rest of your life."

"Wow Vex, your words cut me deep," said the Nord, feigning a look of hurt. "I could _never _compare with the likes of _your_ superior lockpicking skills," she said teasingly, before returning to a more serious tone. "But what's the point of opening it?" she asked, gazing at the lock. "Do you need it for something?"

Vex shifted on the bed, eyeing the other woman. "No, it's obviously for practice."

"I see. Well…" The older woman undid the straps of her Dark Brotherhood armour, taking off the top half to reveal a light cotton shirt underneath, and placed the armour on the floor. "Ah, that's better," she said, stretching her arms over her head. "Had that on for way too long."

She looked to the Imperial, waiting for her to do the same.

After a few seconds, Astrid frowned. "I thought you were all eager to do this, Vex. At least, that's the impression I got when you spoke to me this afternoon after Noela left."

A thought seemed to suddenly occur to the Imperial. "Did she do it? How did it go?"

There was a pause before the Nord replied. "Yes, she got the debts back without harming anyone."

"Oh, well, that's good—"

"And she's a member of the Thieves Guild now."

"What?" exclaimed Vex. "How? _Why_?"

Astrid sighed, "Because Brynjolf and Delvin wanted her. Practically begged me to let her help out from time to time."

"Huh, that so?" Vex sank back against the wall, her expression returning to one that conveyed that she couldn't care less.

"Anyway, enough about Noela," said Astrid with a hint of impatience. "Let's get started."

The Imperial merely watched as the Nord removed her boots, then the armoured pants of her uniform.

Astrid looked around to her. "Well, come on, we haven't got all night."

Vex appeared to be lost in thought and she seemed to snap back to her senses. "What do you mean you haven't got all night—wait," she said, her eyes widening. "Are you—?" She froze.

"Am I what?" the Nord asked sharply.

"You—and that Dragonborn…" she trailed off, her eyes clearly trying to communicate the question so that she didn't have to ask it.

Astrid frowned, "What, Vex? Spit it out."

The Imperial looked like she was having an internal conflict of some kind but then she let out a hard breath. "Are you sleeping with that Dragonborn, Astrid?"

The Nord stared at her. "You've _got _to be kidding me. What makes you say that?"

The tension left Vex's face. "Nothing, was just wondering."

"Why," said Astrid, a smile coming to her lips. "Were you getting jealous?"

"No," said Vex with an indifferent sniff. "I was just concerned that you'd go and mess things up for yourself. I was just worried for you."

"Were you, now? Well, that's news to my ears." Astrid smirked as the Imperial gave her a glare. "Anyway, no, there's nothing happening between me and Noela—"

"But will there be?"

Astrid gazed at her in silence. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Vex. But might I remind you that my agreement with Arnbjorn was that I could _only _do this with you? What part of that isn't clear to you?"

Vex shook her head. "You don't play well by rules, Astrid, let's be real here."

"Are you trying to say that I'm going to cheat on my husband?" asked the Nord, anger beginning to rise.

"Well, didn't you, once? With _me_?"

The Nord shook her head fiercely. "Don't you dare bring that up again. It's all in the past—and Arnbjorn's forgiven it. If anything, he merely said he'd wished he'd been there."

"Ugh, disgusting pig."

"Hey, that's my husband you're talking about!" Astrid glowered at the Imperial.

A smirk crossed Vex's expression and she leaned forward, beginning to remove her own armour. "Anyway, I just thought, since you haven't been here for so long…"

"Well, what do you know, you _have _missed me," said the Nord, the lightheartedness returning to her voice. She reached out for the other woman, assisting her with the many more buckles and straps that were on the Thieves Guild armour.

"Yeah, well," said the Imperial. "I don't get _my _fill as often as you do." They got the last strap undone and Vex dropped the piece of armour to the floor.

"I don't think that's a particularly hard problem to fix," Astrid said, leaning back onto the bed as Vex got to work on her pants. "Delvin's still keen, I'm sure."

"Mention him again and I'll slap you," retorted Vex.

Astrid gazed at the woman who was now dressed in just her smallclothes. "I wouldn't mind that," she said, her eyes making their way down the Imperial's body. "And you're looking as sexy as ever."

"Ah, quit your blabbering," said Vex as she reached for the other woman's shirt, pulling it up and over her head. "There, much better," she smirked.

Hand pushing the Nord back down onto the bed, she climbed on top of her.

"Let's get this started."


	9. The Imperial

**The Imperial**

**Chapter 9: The Imperial**

The following morning Noela awoke to the sound of footsteps, chatter and the dull clanking of cutlery in bowls. She opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep from them, and was a little disoriented at first to discover that she was in an unfamiliar place.

Her memory came back quickly though, and everything that had happened yesterday flooded back within a second or two. She was in the Cistern in the Thieves Guild, and as she sat up, saw a few of the brown leather-clad folk here and there.

Her fellow thieves.

It sounded strange, the thought that she was a thief again. And not just a thief like before, but a thief in the infamous Thieves Guild in Riften.

Slipping into her new brown armour, she made her bed and walked over to the kitchen and dining area to get breakfast. There were three thieves sitting at the dining table and another four about the room, some practicing archery, others standing around talking. The ones at the table looked at her as they passed, and she gave a polite smile. Surprisingly, none of them returned it, and she frowned before remembering what Astrid had said yesterday: _"Let's just say that some thieves don't particularly like assassins."_

She pondered on the statement, wondering why exactly that was the case. Just then, someone tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around quickly, the wooden bowl in her hand nearly dropping to the floor.

"Sorry, lass, I didn't mean to scare you," said Brynjolf in a gentle tone. "How are you, Noela? Did you sleep alright?"

Noela smiled in response, placing the bowl on the kitchen bench. "Yes, I slept okay."

"You can tell it as it is, lass," he said kindly, "It's the smell that's hard to get used to at first, everyone knows that."

"Well, in that case, I slept rather poorly," said the mage with a laugh.

"You'll get used to it in no time, I'm sure. Anyway, I have your first official mission for you. Before I tell you about it, can you follow me? There's someone you have to meet—our Guild Master, as it were."

Noela followed Brynjolf from the kitchen to the centre part of the Cistern. The floor here was comprised mainly of a circular, stone slab, sitting above the shallow water, four footbridges adjoining it to the rest of the floor of the chamber.

Here, a Breton man stood beneath the hole in the ceiling that acted as a natural skylight for the room. He was roughly shaven, and looked about a similar age to Delvin, perhaps shy a couple of years. But he wore an expression of seriousness, and Noela could tell he was not exactly the warm sort.

"Mercer, this is the one I was talking about," said Brynjolf, as he and Noela halted in the circle as well. "Our new recruit."

Mercer surveyed Noela, his eyes clearly judging her. "This better not be another waste of the Guild's resources, Brynjolf." He addressed Noela, "Before we continue, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. If you play by the rules, you walk away rich." His tone was completely business-like and Noela nodded mutely. "You break the rules, and you lose your share, no debates, no discussions. You do what we say, when we say, and _definitely_, you _do not _kill anyone. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Good," the Breton replied. "When you're working for the Guild, you act like a thief, and you think like a thief. You're _not_ an assassin." He scratched his head. "What have we come to, hiring Dark Brotherhood members to do our work for us?" he muttered under his breath.

"Noela's got the talent, and the skill," Brynjolf spoke up. "I'm confident she'll be an asset to us. You'll do good work for us, won't you, Noela?"

"Of course," she replied, nodding again.

"In that case," Mercer continued, "I think it's time we put your expertise to the test."

"Wait a minute—" said Brynjolf, interrupting the Breton. "You're not talking about Goldenglow, are you?" he asked in a tone of disbelief. "Even our little Vex couldn't get in."

Mercer turned to the other man, a look of annoyance on his face. "You claim this recruit possesses an aptitude for our line of work. If so, let her prove it."

The sound of footsteps approaching brought their attention away from the conversation, and Noela saw Vex striding towards them. She stopped once she was within the stone circle.

"Morning, Vex," said Brynjolf, and she gave a brief nod in response. "Had a good night?" he asked, and Noela noticed a twinkle in his eye.

Vex's cheeks seemed to flush slightly, and she replied, "Yeah, was as good as any."

Mercer cleared his throat. "Anyway, now that Vex is here, let's get back on topic." He looked to the two women. "I have a mission for you ladies. Vex, I know it was just last week, but I need you to go back to Goldenglow, this time with Noela, and have another go."

The Imperial looked at him like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "What did you just say?"

"I want you, Vex, to try Goldenglow again, and take Noela with you this time," Mercer repeated, getting somewhat impatient.

"You can't be serious," she replied, and Noela was surprised by the sudden look of outrage she was displaying. "After I was nearly killed last time? Plus, you want me to go with a _newbie_?"

The Imperial shot her a none-too-pleasant look and Noela felt a stab of anger flare up within her. She'd just called her _what_?

"Yes," Mercer said. "We absolutely _have _to complete this task. We can't let Maven down, you should know that."

"I know I have to try again," the Imperial said quickly. "But, if I couldn't get in with Delvin, do you really think I can get in with _her_?" She nodded in Noela's direction.

"It's an order, Vex, so you do it, whether you like it or not," Mercer said with a tone of finality. "You deal with this," he said to Brynjolf. "It was your idea in the first place. And explain the mission in full to her, too," he added, briefly glancing at Noela before taking his leave.

Vex glared at Mercer's back, fuming as he headed toward the Flagon. Then she turned to Brynjolf. "He may as well have just told me to go and die," she said, her glare now directed at the mage. "It's a suicide mission. _And_ I just healed up, too."

"Vex," said Brynjolf consolingly. "Noela's got the skill and talent you need for this job. You and Delvin couldn't handle the eight mercenaries, so you need someone with more firepower. Which is where Noela comes in."

The Imperial looked like she'd just been slapped in the face. "The reason we couldn't 'handle it' was because they sprung at us out of nowhere, we were totally unprepared! Remember, the last we checked, there were only _two_ city guards, not _eight_ bloody mercenaries. That was more than triple our estimate!"

"But do you think you could pull it off with Delvin if you tried again, now that you know how guarded the place is?" Brynjolf asked in a serious tone.

Vex looked from the Nord to the mage, and back again. "No," she finally said. Brynjolf smiled, thinking he'd won the battle when she cut in, "But I don't trust newbs, Bryn. Especially since I barely made it out alive last time. You should know I'm not going to put my life on the line working with someone I don't even know can hold up their end of the stick. Heck, she could be the most powerful person in the world but if she can't sneak, or follow instructions, the mission's already screwed."

"Noela will work fine with you, I can tell," said the Nord in a straightforward tone. "Besides, if she couldn't follow instructions, Astrid wouldn't have hired her, right?"

"Look, Vex," Noela finally said, not wanting to listen to any more of this woman's bullshit. "I'm not going to prove it to you, but I can take out eight mercenaries, no problem. And I'm a pretty good sneak. I've been sneaking and stealing for almost my whole life, and I'm still alive," she said, making a sweeping motion down her body. "I know I can do this, so just have some faith in me." She wanted to add a few profanities after that, but knew that probably wasn't the wisest thing.

"See, Vex? You'll be fine," Brynjolf said agreeably. The Imperial still wasn't convinced, and Noela wondered just how badly she'd been hurt when she'd attempted the mission. Inwardly, she scoffed to herself. If she and Delvin couldn't even get past _eight mercenaries_… Well, in her mind, that was kind of pathetic. Then again, they didn't have the Thu'um or even magic to help—at least, they certainly didn't look like mages. She shook herself out of her thoughts as Brynjolf turned to address her.

"So, lass, your mission is to infiltrate Goldenglow Estate, just outside of Riften, a bee farm that provides honey for our most influential client. You're to burn three of the hives, and clear out the safe in Aringoth's house. Any questions?"

"Um, why exactly three hives?" asked Noela.

"Because our client would be furious if you levelled the entire place. We need to teach Aringoth a lesson, but we still need the honey that the estate produces—Black-Briar Meadery relies on it and our client would be very upset if she had to import the honey. Cuts into her profits, you see."

Noela nodded. "Got it. So the client is Maven Black-Briar, huh?"

Brynjolf smiled. "Good catch. Yes, and you probably know how she practically runs the city. One word from her and you could spend the rest of the fourth era behind bars, if you know what I mean."

"Understood."

* * *

They headed out the southern gate of Riften, Noela following just a few steps behind Vex. She was understandably not comfortable at all with the Imperial, and suddenly wished she were back with Astrid. Then she began to wonder where the Nord was now.

Noela sighed. She just had to get through today, survive the mission—or rather, survive being with _this_ particular woman all day, and hopefully she'd be on her way back to Falkreath this time tomorrow.

She looked around. The sun was shining brightly, lighting up the orange-red leaves of the trees beside the big lake that was outside of Riften. The southern hold of Skyrim was a very beautiful place, much like Falkreath Hold, actually, and Noela relished the warmer temperatures and moderate climate. She supposed, if she ever moved out of Whiterun, she'd most certainly try to find a house somewhere in the south. Then, she remembered that her home was now at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary in Falkreath anyway, which rendered that idea moot.

She saw Vex glance over her shoulder at her, probably to check that she was following. Then, the Imperial stopped completely and turned to face her. Noela halted before she walked into the woman.

"Before we begin, I want to make two things perfectly clear," said Vex in an authoritative tone. "One, I'm the best infiltrator this rathole of a Guild's got, so if you think you're here to replace me, you're dead wrong." She took a breath. "And two, you follow my lead and do exactly as I say. No questions, no excuses. You got that?"

Noela folded her arms, taking her sweet time to reply. "Sure."

The Imperial frowned, but said, "Good. Then we understand each other."

They walked for about half an hour, Noela still trailing a little behind as she had no intention of making small talk with the other thief. They were making their way around the massive lake—Lake Honrich, if Noela was not mistaken—which took up a large proportion of the southern end of the province.

"So," Vex began, and Noela's gaze landed on her back. "That there,"—she stopped and pointed out an island in the middle of lake, which was just visible through the haze that was out on the water—"is Goldenglow Estate. We've got to get into there, and not via the main entrance."

Noela held her hand up to shield the sunlight from her eyes. "I can see a bridge running from the mainland to the island. That's the main entrance?" she asked and the Imperial nodded. "So, how do we get in?"

"Well, there's an old sewer tunnel that dumps into the lake on the northwest side of the island. That's how we slipped in there last time. Should still be unguarded."

Her eyes met Noela's and the mage suddenly noticed that her eyes were in fact a rather unique cross between orange and brown, now that she was out in the sun. It was mesmerising, the many shades that were within just that colour. It did well to enhance her appearance, which was, well, she had to admit, very attractive; the same thought that she had had yesterday.

Though, really, the woman could have the nicest body in the world but if her personality was rotten, what did it matter?

She was snapped out of her musings as the Imperial opened her mouth to speak. "Why are you staring?"

"Er—" Noela blinked somewhat dumbly. "Was I?" She gave off a nervous laugh, realising that she _had_ been staring. "Sorry, it's your eye colour. It's just—sort of interesting."

Noela was met with a look of astonishment before Vex composed herself, crossing her arms over her chest and giving a smirk. "That so?"

The mage felt her ears redden and looked away, back to the island. "So how do we get to the northwest side?" she asked, feeling the Imperial's gaze burning through her.

"A bit of swimming. Though, it's mostly walking through knee-deep water."

Noela gave a slight nod.

"Not afraid of getting wet, are you?"

"Of course not," Noela responded with a hint of indignation. The Imperial's condescension was beginning to irk her.

"Good. Then you shouldn't slow us down, newb," said Vex, taking the lead again.

Noela felt something inside of her snap. "Just… can you quit with the 'newb' thing?" she asked irritably before she could stop herself. "It's rather annoying."

The Imperial spun around so quick that it caught Noela off guard, and before she knew it, the pale woman was up in her face, but an inch away, a venomous expression fixed on her features.

"Look," seethed Vex. "You joined the Guild yesterday, didn't you? A membership handed over on a silver platter, mind. Hardly had to prove yourself, all because you're the 'Dragonborn'. Well, that may have won you the favour of Brynjolf, and Astrid, and Mercer, but it means absolutely nothing to me. I'll treat you the same as any other new member of the Guild, and you're not even a proper member at that. Just be glad I'm actually speaking to you, newb."

Noela clenched her fists, feeling rage boiling up, and concentrated on resisting the very strong urge to Shout at the woman. "I couldn't care less if you spoke to me or not, in fact, I'd rather you didn't," said Noela honestly despite herself. "You've thrown nothing but insults at me all morning, when _I'm _the one doing _your_ Guild a favour. So show some gratitude, Imperial, before I decide that I'm wasting my time. Time that could be better spent elsewhere, just so you know."

The moment the words had left her mouth, Noela instantly regretted speaking them. She had no desire to start a fight with this woman, but there wasn't much else she could do to alleviate her anger.

Vex stared at her for a second, looking nothing less than shocked. Noela wanted to grin in smugness but before she could, she was caught off guard and had the wind knocked out of her as Vex grabbed the collar of her uniform and yanked her in a violent shake.

"That," she spat, "Is about as much as I'll take from you, _newb_. I'm your superior here, so you'd better know your place and keep your trap shut if you don't want me to pound your face into the ground."

"Is that a threat?" Noela retorted. "If so, I'll gladly take you on, Imperial."

That was when she felt a punch land in her gut, and Noela had to give credit to the other thief; she was fast when it came to using her fists.

Keeling over, Noela stumbled back a few steps and quickly regained her composure. She wasn't going to lose this fight. Silently, she decided not to use any Dragonborn abilities—a part of her also wanted to throw a few punches to relieve the high tension she was now feeling.

Vex was standing back with a smirk and was totally unprepared when Noela suddenly charged her. The mage collided with the Imperial, sending her flying backwards off the road and into the surrounding bushes.

Noela couldn't help but let out a laugh of triumph, and dusted off her hands as she watched Vex get up out of the bushes, a scratch that was now bleeding visible on her left cheek.

The mage almost felt sorry for what she'd done but quickly dropped that as she noticed that the Imperial was not done yet.

Tensing herself for the next round of the fight, Noela held her fists in front of her as Vex marched toward her, stopping about two paces away. Her eyes were burning with fury and indignation, and Noela held her gaze steadily, the time seeming to stretch as she mentally prepared for the next blow.

And then it came. Vex threw a fist aiming for her nose and Noela sidestepped, parrying the woman's fist and countering with a punch of her own. The Imperial was quick though, and dodged it swiftly.

Noela was not exactly the best at close-quarters combat and she didn't see the kick that was coming at her just outside of her peripheral vision. It landed painfully in the side of her ribcage, and the force of it threw her off the other side of the road and toward the lake, where she landed in a clump of dead leaves.

She was on all fours and barely had time to recover when she felt another blow in her stomach, and this time she was sent flying into the lake itself, the water flowing up into her nostrils as she felt herself sink into the muddy water.

Luckily the lake was pretty shallow at this depth, and she was able to sit up without being submerged. Coughing out the dirty water, she spluttered as she tried to catch her breath.

Vex was standing on the bank of the lake, still looking furious but somewhat satisfied. The gash on her cheek was oozing out a dark red trickle of blood, and, as Noela squinted, realised that it was actually more a cut than just a scratch.

Rising slowly from the water, Noela held up her palms in surrender. She didn't feel like fighting anymore—she didn't even know _why _they were fighting; it seemed stupid now. Vex relaxed her stance but narrowed her eyes, no doubt thinking it could be some trick Noela was playing.

Noela took a few steps in the water back toward the bank. "I give up," she announced. "I don't want to fight you anymore."

She reached the Imperial and the woman just crossed her arms, probably not believing her.

"I don't even know why we're fighting, Vex," began Noela. "I see you got a cut."

The Imperial peered at her with distaste. "It's nothing," she said, swiping at the cut on her cheek but wincing at the same time. She'd also managed to successfully create a nice red smear on her face.

Noela chuckled, the sight being somewhat amusing. Vex frowned at her. "Hey, just hold still a sec. Don't worry, I'm not continuing the fight or anything," said the mage, before letting loose a golden light from her hand which flowed directly onto the other woman.

Vex was about to jump back in alarm when she appeared to recognise the spell. Within a few seconds, the cut on her face had completely disappeared.

Smiling, Noela stopped the magic.

"I didn't ask you to heal me, mage," said Vex indifferently.

"A thank you would've been sufficient," replied Noela, feeling her dislike for the woman creeping into her again.

Vex straightened up, but kept her distance. "I think we're badly matched for this mission," she stated. "You deliberately picked a fight with me, and clearly, we can't work together like this. Not when we're entering dangerous territory with our lives on the line. I'm calling this mission over, and I'm going back to Riften. You do what you want, I couldn't care less."

She turned to march back onto the path toward the city, when Noela called out, "Wait!"

The Imperial turned around.

"Vex, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pick a fight with you," continued Noela. "I _know_ we can do this mission, and succeed at it. I promise to do as you say from now on."

Noela didn't know exactly why she was saying this, perhaps it was her pride. It would be _terrible_ if they went back, and had failed before they had even begun. She didn't want to disappoint, that would be like a black mark on her record. What would Brynjolf say? What would _Astrid_ say? No, a part of her, the _thief_ part of her, wanted in on this. She _did _want to be a member of this guild.

Vex shook her head. "I don't trust you. And I know you don't trust me. So this isn't going to work."

Noela said, "I trust you. I do. And I'll behave from now on, really. I do want to be part of your Guild. You probably don't know it but I've been a thief since I was little. I was interested in joining the moment I first entered the Ragged Flagon. You remember the friend I had that you mentioned? She was persuading me _not_ to join the Thieves after I told her I wanted to. Of course, at the time I had to do the Dragonborn stuff first."

The Imperial listened to her explanation, and Noela waited patiently as Vex seemed to reconsider. After what felt like ages, she said, "Fine. But this is your last warning, newb. One more screw up and I swear I'll never work with you again. Understood?"

Noela nodded, sighing inwardly. She wondered how long Vex was going to be referring to her as a newb. Perhaps, she just had to show her how un-newbish she actually was.


	10. Goldenglow

**Goldenglow**

**Chapter 10: Goldenglow**

The trip through the waters surrounding Goldenglow Estate was rather uneventful, Noela deliberately keeping a safe distance behind Vex as she didn't want to unintentionally antagonise her in any way.

Or intentionally, if Noela couldn't help herself.

Smirking slightly, she crept after Vex through the sewerage tunnel that was their secret way into the estate.

They came across nothing but a couple of skeevers, and Vex stopped them once they were beneath a manhole-sized cover in the ceiling. She pointed to the ladder leading up to the exit.

"This is it, the start of the mission. Once we go up through that grate, it's game time," said Vex, placing her hands on her hips. "So, this is our last chance to speak and discuss our plan. You saw how swarmed the place is with mercenaries. Once we're in there, we won't be able to make a sound."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Noela casually.

"First we get the key, clear the safe, then burn the hives. I'll take care of the breaking and entering, and you provide me backup where I need it. Take out the mercenaries on my command—you're allowed to kill them, just not Aringoth, unless _absolutely _necessary."

Noela nodded. "And could we not break into the safe without the key? I assume we'd have to deal with Aringoth directly in order to get it."

Vex seemed to take her question into consideration. "That's—actually not a bad idea, newb. Of course, I don't know how hard that safe is to crack, but it's probably worth locating it first anyway. Alright then, let's get going."

She turned to head up the ladder but Noela said, "Would it not increase our chances of success to wait until night to do this?"

"No. Well, yes, but Mercer wants this done asap. Maven's getting impatient."

Without another word, she scrambled up the ladder and Noela followed suit.

* * *

The sewer exit brought them out onto the hill overlooking the beautiful Lake Honrich, right beside what Noela supposed was the side entrance of the Goldenglow Estate house.

Looking quickly around for mercenaries, Vex crept over to the door and began working it. "Watch my back," she whispered over her shoulder to Noela.

She got it open in about twenty seconds, and Noela briefly wondered about the difficulty level of that lock.

They found themselves in a wooden house, the floorboards creaking slightly with each step they took. They passed two shut doors on their right, and at the end of the corridor Vex turned left.

Off to the side was a large dining room, and at the far end of this new corridor a mercenary was sitting in a chair.

Clinging to the walls, Vex shuffled silently toward the dining room and away from the direction of the mercenary.

Then, she stopped abruptly and Noela walked right into her, which earned her a 'tsk' from the Imperial. Rubbing her shoulder where it was now throbbing painfully, Noela looked up ahead and saw a second mercenary walking through the dining room.

Vex flattened herself back against the wall. "We need to take him out," she said in a hushed voice.

"On it," said Noela, and stepped ahead.

At the doorway to the room, the mercenary was close but now had his back to them and Noela took the opportunity quickly, lunging in with her dagger and slitting his throat from behind. Grabbing his body so he wouldn't hit the floor with a loud thump that would no doubt alert the other guard, Noela whispered, "Help me."

Vex sidestepped her and took hold of the chest side of the man's body, and together they lowered him silently to the floor.

Once they'd straightened up, Noela noticed that Vex now had a few spots of blood on her clothes and hair, which, surprisingly, seemed to increase her attractiveness more.

But then Noela caught Vex's eye and realised the Imperial had caught her staring, _again_. Vex's expression narrowed into a frown but she didn't say a word, instead turning and traversing the rest of the room.

They exited the dining room and turned right. Straight ahead was a locked iron gate. Checking that the coast was clear, Vex tiptoed over to it and began picking its lock.

Noela spun about to watch their backs, when a mercenary appeared around the corner of the corridor. He was headed straight for them but hadn't spotted them yet.

"Shit," Noela swore, whipping out two potion bottles from her robes and pressing one quickly into Vex's hands. "Drink it!" she whispered hurriedly.

It took them two seconds to down their potions and just when the magic took effect, the mercenary looked at them and stopped in his tracks.

Both she and Vex were now invisible, though the mercenary _might_ just have seen them the second before they had disappeared. The man drew his sword, making his way cautiously over. There was no time to delay though, as the invisibility potion only lasted thirty seconds.

Noela dashed forward without another moment's hesitation, her footsteps being muffled by the Dark Brotherhood shoes, and stabbed the man several times in his vital points and he fell to the floor, the ground vibrating as his body hit it. His sword made a loud clang as it too, hit the floorboards, and that was all that was needed to alert the very first guard they had spotted.

The mage turned around and heard footsteps coming from just out of sight, and she knew they were now in danger. Just as he rounded the corner, Noela shot off a few spikes of ice exactly where his head was, and he quickly fell to the floor atop the other guard, dead.

Noela breathed a sigh of relief. She spun around and saw that Vex had gotten the gate open, and ran through it just as she became visible again. Vex shut the gate after her and the mage caught her breath.

"Let's hurry," said Vex. "The bodies are sure to attract other guards."

They went down some stairs and came across an iron door. All was silent and it appeared to lead to a more remote part of the building.

"The basement," stated Noela.

Vex nodded, "Exactly where I might put a safe."

Opening up the door, they discovered a dark and dank room, full of cobwebs and dust and tables and chairs stacked haphazardly. Some sort of storage room, Noela surmised.

They scoured it but came across no safe, and so made their way to the other exit which opened up another corridor beyond.

Here, it was even dustier than the previous room, bits of stone littered on the floor from the crumbling walls and they had to tread carefully in order to not trip over.

Although it appeared completely deserted, if the safe was in fact here, which Vex seemed to think it was, then it would undoubtedly be guarded, possibly heavily.

After finding their way through what felt like a labyrinth of dark corridors, they finally spotted a mercenary in a chair, his back to them, at the far end of the corridor.

"That's the way," muttered Vex.

She stopped as they were pretty close to the man and there was nothing else around. He sat facing another part of the room that led another floor down. This time though, the Imperial didn't get Noela to do the killing, instead sneaking straight behind the mercenary and slicing his neck without a moment's hesitation.

Noela walked over slowly in awe. "I see thieves can be as good as assassins," she commented lightly. "I didn't take you for the type though. I assumed dirty work wasn't your kind of thing."

"Oh, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, newbie," responded Vex. "I simply prefer to keep my blade clean, and kill out of necessity, not because I enjoy it."

Noela felt a bit of a blow from her words, because she was immediately reminded of her own propensity as a killer. One that _did_ enjoy it, and it still didn't sit quite right with her. She supposed she still couldn't fully come to terms yet with who and what she was.

"Let's keep going, and keep the chitchat to a minimum," said the Imperial, bringing the mage out of her thoughts. "We're nowhere near the end of this yet."

They headed straight for the ladder the mercenary had been watching, and at the bottom, the thieves found themselves in a room, another locked iron gate at the opposite end.

But then, Vex pointed to the far left corner of the room, exclaiming, "There it is!"

She rushed over to the safe and Noela was a step behind her. Vex quickly inserted her lockpick and a small knife blade and began trying to open it.

Noela stood back, glancing over her shoulder at any guards that might appear but at the same time being incredibly interested in watching Vex work.

This was the first time she had ever seen a high level lockpicker at work, and since Vex had claimed she was the best infiltrator in the guild, Noela assumed no less than the best.

"Say," she began, wanting to check. "What's your lockpicking skill level?" she asked the Imperial curiously.

Vex was concentrating hard on trying to pick the safe and didn't respond right away. Noela was about to shrug it off when the woman replied, "I'm master level, obviously. I can train you in lockpicking, it's one of the services I offer in the guild."

Noela nodded, though the Imperial couldn't see her. She let Vex work and kept an eye on the entrance to the room, when she heard a loud snap.

"Dang it!" said Vex. The broken lockpick fell to the floor and she fished in her pocket for a second one, immediately jamming it into the keyhole and starting over.

"Is it difficult to open?" asked Noela, stepping in to peer closely at the lock.

Vex huffed in frustration. "No, it's not a difficult lock, but there's something jamming it up. Could be rust, I don't know."

"So then, you can't get it open?"

Vex tried again for a few more seconds, before sighing heavily. "Nope, it's jammed. At least, it won't open with any lockpick."

"Can I try?"

The Imperial gave her an incredulous look. "If even I can't get it open, there's no chance in Oblivion _you_ will."

Still, she handed over the implements to Noela and the mage had a shot. After about three minutes, Vex smirking at her the whole time, Noela conceded.

"You're right, it's stuck," she said, handed the tools back to Vex.

"See? I mean come on, it's not like you could ever open any lock I couldn't," said the Imperial in a I-told-you-so tone.

"Hey, I bet I could hold up against you in any lockpicking race," answered Noela indignantly. "Fastest of ten rounds wins."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Vex, her voice sounding cool although not quite hiding the excitement beneath. "One thousand septims says that I kick your ass. You in?"

Noela almost gaped at the huge sum of money, but she had plenty of it so it didn't matter. "You're on!" she exclaimed loudly, and Vex quickly clapped a hand over the mage's mouth.

"You idiot! Keep it down!"

She let go of Noela and the mage apologised, almost having forgotten that they were on a mission. If she had to admit it, the idea of a lockpicking race was setting her heart pumping.

"Alright then, so we need the key," stated Noela. "But would that help since the lock is stuck?"

Vex exhaled, "It might have a better chance of opening it, but no guarantees. The last resort would be to blast this thing apart but that will likely alert the entire estate."

"The key it is, then."

* * *

Creeping back through the basement was no fun at all, and they found themselves back at the iron gate with three dead bodies lying around.

"That's weird, it looks like no one else has discovered them yet," commented Vex.

This time, they headed back past the dining room doorway and up another set of stairs, which led to the second floor of the house.

Vex seemed to be going more slowly than before, and Noela got the feeling she was being extra careful. Perhaps this was where she and Delvin had been ambushed last time, or maybe it was bringing back bad memories, Noela speculated.

There were many rooms on this level, and not knowing where exactly Aringoth was, they had to search behind every door.

It was a difficult task, seeing as there were even more mercenaries on this floor than the first.

After a while of sneaking about, Noela's senses on high alert, they crossed just behind another mercenary sitting in a chair and found a locked room.

The mercenary was sitting only a few feet away, so Vex mouthed at Noela to have a go at the lock.

Noela whipped out her pick and opened it with no fuss, the lock being easy enough for a novice, and they entered the room.

It was a bed chamber, a large bed straight ahead and a desk on the left. The far side of the room was slightly raised like a platform, and they couldn't see what was beyond that point as the room curved around.

Vex took the lead, and crept onto the platform. Then she stopped and Noela saw Aringoth in the hidden corner of the room.

Against the wall, the Altmer sat, his side to them, and Vex motioned for Noela to stay put. Then, the Imperial crouched even lower, and remaining out of his field of vision, attempted to pickpocket him.

Noela watched with bated breath as Vex dug about in his pocket, but then shivers erupted all over her skin when Aringoth spoke.

"Worthless mercenaries, I didn't think Maven or Mercer would allow me to get away with this, but I had little choice."

Vex jumped back in alarm but quickly recomposed herself. "I just want the key to your safe."

Aringoth shook his head. "I can't. If I do, I may as well cut my own throat."

"And what makes you think I won't?" asked Vex in a fierce tone.

Aringoth responded coolly, "I don't believe you. That's not your way."

Then Vex suddenly pointed at Noela. "Maybe I won't, but _she _will. She's an assassin with the Dark Brotherhood, and she'll gladly cut you up, mince you and take the key from your disemboweled corpse. Right, Noela?"

"Er—sure," said Noela.

Aringoth emitted a harsh laugh. "You can't fool me! But give it your best shot anyway!" he said, standing up. "GUARDS!"

All at once, the battle had begun. Noela was closer to the door and ran over to shut it, while she felt a heavy thump of a mercenary against it. They were about to be outnumbered, and Noela didn't know if Vex could hold up against Aringoth.

Hastily casting a frost rune over the door, Noela jumped back to avoid triggering the spell and ran over to help Vex.

She was fighting Aringoth with two daggers, and the Altmer had one of his own.

A loud bang erupted from behind them, and Noela knew the rune had exploded, hopefully taking out a few mercenaries with it.

She quickly shot off a lightning bolt at Aringoth, which caused him to stumble and opened him up for attack from Vex.

But she had to watch their backs, and Noela swiftly returned her attention to the blown-apart door. About four mercenaries were charging through, the rune only having taken out one, who lay dead in the doorway, and Noela raised her palms and aimed both hands at the floor.

A wall of flame erupted from the ground, engulfing two mercenaries and setting another one alight. He ran off, screaming in pain and she shot him down with a fireball, managing to hit the last remaining mercenary who was within its radius.

Satisfied, Noela turned back to Vex.

The Imperial had incapacitated Aringoth by stabbing him in his right arm, his dagger now on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Stepping over him, Vex bent down and rummaged in his pocket for the key, which she grasped with triumph.

Aringoth was not unconscious though, and groaned as it was taken from his possession.

"Just be glad you're alive," Vex directed at him as she gestured to Noela that they were going.

Once they left the room Noela spoke. "Why did you let him live, Vex?"

"Because we weren't supposed to kill him. He was right, Aringoth. That's not the way we do things."

Noela nodded slowly. "You don't like to kill people if you can help it."

Vex replied with nothing more than a glance.

"Except… you took out that mercenary near the safe."

The Imperial shrugged, "You would've killed him anyway. It doesn't make a difference."

"I would've killed him because you asked me to. I'm not a killing machine, you know."

Vex looked seriously at her. "You're a god damn _assassin_, unless you forgot? And I only killed that mercenary because we _had _to take him out. As I said earlier, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"

"Oh, but earlier you said you _don't _kill for fun," Noela contended.

"Newb, we at the Thieves Guild don't like a messy trail, it doesn't look good for us. So we keep it clean when we can. Besides, I couldn't have you thinking I wasn't willing to do any of the heavy lifting, right? On this mission, we work together."

Noela gave a chuckle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say some part of you actually _cares_ about me."

There was a pause before Vex said coldly, "The only thing I care about is getting out of this mission, _alive_. And if you're dead, my odds decrease dramatically. So don't convince yourself that I actually like you—you couldn't be further from the truth."

"Well, that's unfortunate. And here I was thinking that we might be able to get along," sighed Noela.

* * *

Once down in the basement again, Vex inserted the key into the safe and they both breathed a sigh of relief when the lock clicked open.

"Thank the gods," said Vex. She pulled out a pouch of coins and a letter, tucking them away into her pockets. "And all that's left now are the hives."

They found a quicker way out of the room through another locked gate, which surprisingly took them back into the sewer tunnel.

"Ready for round two?" asked Vex once they were back under the same manhole cover as just an hour before.

"Let's do this," said Noela.

The noon sun was high in the sky now, and it was rather warm given the activity and the heightened state of Noela's senses. This time, they crept around the house, and saw from the top of the hill, the wide expanse of large gardens below, descending in a tier-like fashion, that led to the beehives out in the distance, near the entrance of the estate.

They could see many mercenaries guarding the grounds from here, and in broad daylight, they'd have to be extremely lucky to not be spotted.

"How many more of those potions you got?" asked Vex as they crouched in the bushes overlooking the gardens.

Noela dug about in her robes. "Erm, only one more invisibility potion. Do you want it?" she asked, offering it to the Imperial.

Vex looked from the bottle to the mage with a crease between her brow. "If I take it you won't have one," she stated.

Noela smiled, "That's alright, go ahead. I'm sure you need it more than me." That earned her a glare from the Imperial and Noela laughed. "Just kidding, go on," she pressed.

Slowly, Vex took the bottle from her grip with a heavy scowl. "Don't forget that you lost the fight we had earlier, so I think you've got it backwards," she said, tucking away the potion.

"Maybe I let you win," disagreed Noela.

"Bullshit," was Vex's response. "Now stop your blabbering and let's burn the hives. You see that canal down there? We'll take that bridge to cross it." She pointed to one of several wooden footbridges that joined the bit of land they were on to the one with the beehives. "We're probably not going to be able to get there without being seen, so be prepared for more fights. I think we'll sneak first, and if and when we do get caught, just sprint for the hives and burn them quick, then jump into the lake and swim to the shore. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Right then, follow me."

They crept to the edge of the land, then found a spot to climb down onto the level of garden below. There was a footpath that weaved through the grounds, but there was barely any cover; no trees and mainly just bushes, shrubs and flowerbeds.

"Stick to the bushes," whispered Vex.

It didn't take long before they came across a mercenary who was walking the footpath, and the women ducked into the sharp branches of the nearest bush, Noela trying her hardest not to yelp as she felt the fabric of her robes tear.

The mercenary passed, and Vex exhaled beside her. "Let's keep going."

They managed to reach the footbridge Vex had pointed out earlier, when they discovered it was wide open space from here to the other side of the bridge. The bridge itself wasn't exactly long, but it was completely open and if they were spotted, it would only be seconds before arrows started flying their way.

"This would be a good time to use the potion," whispered Noela to Vex.

"And how will _you_ get across?"

"Wait—I've actually got an idea," said Noela. "And I think you can save that potion."

Noela scanned the surroundings, looking for the ideal location.

"What are you going to do?" asked Vex in an undertone.

"Just wait and see," said Noela, her eyes flashing as she spotted a good place.

Taking a quick glance at Vex, who looked understandably puzzled, Noela sucked in a breath.

"ZUL MEY GUT!"

Right across the bridge from where they were hidden, Noela's voice could be heard shouting, "Hey, cheese-brain!"

Vex slapped her arm. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Noela held up a hand to silence her. "Just watch."

Two mercenaries who had been near the location of where the Shout was aimed, wandered over, their body language indicating they were clearly perplexed.

"What's that?" they heard a guard near the hives shouting down to the mercenary who was now scratching his head near the source of the noise.

"And now, let's get them further away," whispered Noela. "ZUL MEY GUT!"

"Hey, skeever butt!" rang out Noela's voice again, this time from a location further up and away from the beehives.

"Perfect," said Noela. "Let's go!"

This time, the shout had attracted an additional two mercenaries and all five of them headed off in the direction of the disembodied voice.

Noela sprinted across the bridge, Vex hot on her heels. She had no idea if they'd still be seen by other mercenaries who hadn't been in range of the shout, and the quicker they reached the hives, the better.

The mercenaries were still looking about bewildered for a few seconds and one of them drew a battle axe. "It's a trap, lads!" he yelled. The other mercenaries drew their weapons.

They had reached the other side of the bridge now, but there was nowhere to hide here. The area was bare rock and they had to go up a set of steps to reach the upper tier of the land where the hives sat.

"I see them!" roared one of the mercenaries, and Noela swore.

"Vex! Use that potion!" she yelled.

Noela didn't have time to check where Vex was when she heard the whoosh of arrows fly past her head.

"Crap!"

Noela sprinted up the steps two at a time and dove into the grass, her eyes finding the hives.

"Burn them, with your magic!" said Vex from beside Noela. The mage spun around but couldn't see Vex anywhere. "Do that, I'll take care of them!"

The invisible Vex's boots could be heard sprinting off through the grass toward the mercenaries who were no doubt making their way over, fast, and Noela set her sights on the hives.

From the ground, she shot three fireballs at three of the hives and they struck home, the structures going up into flames immediately.

Getting onto all fours, Noela scampered toward the mercenaries who were now at the top of the steps. She had no idea where Vex was—it hadn't been thirty seconds yet and she couldn't see her.

Noela shook her head. This was a bad plan.

She couldn't fight with magic because she might hit Vex, and long range weapons weren't her thing.

"Vex, clear out!" yelled Noela to the mercenaries where she assumed Vex was.

One of the mercenaries suddenly spurted blood and dropped to his knees, and it was clear now where she was. Noela aimed an ice spike at a mercenary a little further away, and then, the thirty seconds was up.

Noela heard yells in the distance, and could see a further eight or so mercenaries coming from the gardens and about to cross the bridges to their side of the island.

"We have to leave!" yelled Vex, now fully visible again, as she fought off another mercenary, stabbing him in the ribs.

"Duck!" shouted Noela to Vex and the Imperial dove out of the way. Noela released a continuous flames spell at the mercenaries who ran off before the fire could reach them, and under that cover, she sprinted after Vex to the bank of the island.

The Imperial dove into the water without missing a beat and Noela did so too, the cold water gushing through her robes as she used all her strength to propel herself as fast as she could to the opposite bank.

She wasn't sure if there were arrows flying at them and so she dove deeper underwater, feeling her ears pop as she strained her muscles to go faster.

At last, after what was probably five minutes of maximum speed swimming, the water became too shallow and Noela emerged from the lake, collapsing onto the bank.

She gasped for air, spewing out some lake water that had gotten into her lungs, and clutched her side, a stitch having formed and was stabbing her painfully with each breath.

She heard the sound of panting beside her and Vex too, emerged from the water.

"We're—not—clear—yet," panted the Imperial, and tugged at Noela's robes as she jogged past her further inland.

Noela forced herself to get up, and ran through the trees lining the bank after Vex.

Another ten minutes passed and finally, Vex slowed to a stop.

Both women collapsed onto the ground then, trying to catch their breath. Noela could hear the blood pounding in her own head like a thunderous storm drum and after another couple of minutes, her hearing returned.

"That—was sick," said Vex, sounding completely drained. "What a neat trick."

Noela chuckled, the air slowly returning to her lungs. "Yeah, it's damn useful, that Shout."

"And… we did it!" said the Imperial gleefully, and for the first time ever, Noela saw Vex smile. "We fucking did it, Noela. Great job!" She whacked the mage across the shoulder and Noela winced.

"Ugh—I think I must've got cut there." The mage aimed a healing spell at her shoulder and immediately felt its restorative effects. "Alright, you can hit me again."

She didn't think Vex would, but the Imperial gave her a harder smack across the same place.

"Hey!" exclaimed Noela, and Vex sniggered.

"You told me to."

The wide grin on Vex's face was a rare sight to behold. Not that Noela had known Vex long, but—she didn't think it was often that the Imperial _did _give off a smile.

And it was amazing.

"You're um, staring again," said Vex, her expression slowly returning to normal.

"Ah, no!" said Noela as the Imperial's face began to show it's usual sulk. "It's bloody rare, that moment!"

"What is?"

Even though she was no longer smiling, the Imperial was now displaying a somewhat endearing expression of puzzlement. "Um, forget it," said Noela, feeling her ears begin to heat up. She looked away, but Vex's gaze was still on her face. "And look who's staring now."

She met Vex's eyes again, and in the sunlight, was reminded of their enigmatic hue, the colours of her irises seeming to shift between orange and a light brown.

"You should smile more often," said Noela. "It makes you look… less threatening."

Vex crossed her arms. "And what if I _want _to look 'threatening'?"

"Then I guess, don't," shrugged Noela. "Seriously though, it does wonders."

She didn't want to be clearer than that, the conversation getting sort of weird now that she had unexpectedly gone off on some peculiar tangent regarding Vex's appearance.

"Let's just get back home," said Vex, and they headed back to the road leading in the direction of Riften.

* * *

"Gals, you're back!" exclaimed Delvin happily as they entered the Ragged Flagon.

"Where's Brynjolf?" asked Vex curtly.

"But were you successful?" continued Delvin. "You got the goods? Burned the beehives?"

"Yep and yep," responded the Imperial.

"That's my little Vex," said Delvin fondly.

"Shut your face," snapped the Imperial.

Just then, the sound of the trick cabinet opened and Brynjolf appeared, striding quickly towards them.

"Lasses, you've returned! Well, how did it go?" asked the Nord very eagerly.

"All done, Bryn," replied Vex, pulling out the contents of the safe from her pockets and handing the items to him.

Brynjolf peered at the letter. "What do we have here?"

"Sorry it got wet as we had to swim through the lake. I haven't read it yet so I don't know. But it was in Aringoth's safe."

"Right," said the Nord, and tucked it away. "I'll have a look at it in a bit. But, this calls for celebration. Well done, the both of you." His eyes twinkled as he smiled at the women. Then he turned to Vex. "See? I knew you could pull it off with Noela at your side."

The Imperial glanced at the mage. "Yeah. She had the firepower like you said. Thanks for the help, newb."

Noela rolled her eyes. "_You're welcome."_

"Well then, why don't we throw a party here in the tavern tonight? Have a few drinks, celebrate your success, eh? It's only afternoon but we can start now, gives us more time." He winked. "I'll go call everyone."

Just as he was about to head back to the Cistern, Noela asked, "Can I head back after the party, Brynjolf? Astrid will want me back soon as I can, I expect."

"Of course," he replied with a smile.

Once he left, Vex made a beeline for the bar, ordering herself a drink. "Oh, and get her one too, Vekel," she said, thumbing at Noela.

Noela wandered over, and gratefully accepted her tankard of mead from the bartender, who claimed it was on the house.

"Shall we go sit on the dock?" asked Vex once she had her tankard too.

At the mage's confused expression the Imperial pointed to the boardwalk that extended out from the main part of the tavern and onto the water.

"Sure."

There was a bench on the left of the boardwalk and they sat down, a short wooden barrier separating this part of the Flagon from the main part, offering them some privacy.

"Just want some peace and quiet," explained Vex. "Delvin can be annoying, and I want to relax right now."

Noela peered through the gap in the barrier at Delvin, who was sitting at his usual spot at a table and reading some paperwork.

Not a second later, the sound of the trick cabinet rang out again and a multitude of voices and chatter along with footsteps met their ears.

Vex sighed. "I don't exactly want a party, but whatever." She took a sip of her drink.

Noela didn't feel like socialising with the other thieves at this moment either; she didn't really want to socialise, period.

"So, you're heading back to Falkreath tonight?" the Imperial asked.

"Yeah."

"Give my regards to Astrid," said Vex, looking out over the water. "And tell her to get her ass back here soon."

"Um, sure," replied Noela, a little confused at the request.

"So you did well out there today, newbie." Her gaze met Noela's and in this dim light her eyes were much more subdued—more like a dull brown.

The mage took another sip of her drink. "And when will you stop calling me a newbie?"

"When you're not new anymore," shrugged Vex. "You're only here part-time, so that mightn't be for a while."

"I guess I'll have to deal with it," Noela said in a resigned, albeit lighthearted tone.

With the mead flowing through her, Noela felt the adrenaline and the excitement of the day fizzle down into a content sort of relaxation. The pit of her belly was warm from the liquid, and she felt her mind wandering of its own accord.

Scenes of the mission flashed through her memory, and it suddenly felt like she'd been a part of the Thieves Guild for a lot longer than just a day. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had carried out her assassination missions, being in Dawnstar, and Ivarstead, and the long journey in between.

And her mind flowed onto Astrid, the woman she had come to develop a soft spot for. The Nord, her blonde hair blowing in the snowy mountain air, the smell of mountain flowers rolling gently off in the breeze as Noela walked behind her.

She couldn't wait to see her again.

Dreamily, Noela gazed about through a haze of alcohol, feeling more relaxed than ever. The ripples on the surface of the water danced about, scattering when water droplets from the cave ceiling fell and disrupted their calm.

Distantly, she could hear the hum of laughter and chatter from the party in the tavern. She peered to the woman beside her.

Vex was gulping down her drink, and looked to be nearly finished with it.

In the dim light, her eyes were brown, and Noela remembered how mesmerised she had been from examining the Imperial's eye colour in the sunlight. Even her hair was more vibrant in the outdoors, and a strange pang that this underground light didn't do her justice at all suddenly seemed to overwhelm the mage.

_She's beautiful_, Noela thought. _She shouldn't be living down here in the dark._

She examined Vex's platinum strands, her hair cropped just before her shoulders. Worn down, it was a little unruly, but at the same time, gave her a tougher exterior. A rough edge.

_She's a little similar to Astrid_, Noela's train of thought continued.

Strangely, slowly, the image of the Imperial in front of her began to morph. The platinum hair became blond, the skin darkening just a tad. Her uniform changed from just black, to red with black. And her eyes—her eyes turned from brown, to green.

And in the back of her mind, at that moment, it didn't make sense. Her mind was in a daze, and she shook her head vigorously to snap out of whatever alcohol-induced daydream she was in.

"You alright?" came Vex's voice beside her, a hint of concern audible.

Noela cleared her throat. "Erm, yes. The mead is starting to affect me is all."

"It's probably because it's mid-afternoon and we haven't had lunch yet."

Her vision returning to normal, Noela gazed at Vex.

And then, she saw something that she didn't expect. A flashback of the Imperial earlier in the morning, specks of blood on her face, on her hair, and on her clothes. The image of someone who had just killed.

Except, Noela had to remind herself, that it was she herself who had killed _that_ particular mercenary, not Vex.

And her mind then conjured up a second scene of the day, one where Vex had sneaked up behind a mercenary in a dark corridor and slit his throat.

She felt a jolt between her legs.

She looked up, alarmed. The Vex in the present moment was frowning at her. "What's up with your face?"

The Imperial's question was a fair one, and the mage was certainly not thinking straight.

Noela opened her mouth to give some reply, but nothing came out. She closed it back and must have looked rather dumb; like a fish gulping for air.

The only thing she knew right now, was that in some strange, twisted way, she was attracted to Vex.

"You've um, finished your drink," said Noela, gesturing to Vex's empty tankard but clumsily knocking it out of her grasp by accident. It hit the floor with a clang.

Vex's eyes widened and looked like she was about to tell Noela off, but for some reason, didn't.

"You've been… staring at me all day," noted the Imperial slowly.

"I suppose I—can't help it," replied Noela, the intensity of the gaze seeming to grow as each long millisecond passed.

Her hand was still near the other woman's since she had knocked the tankard from it and she brushed it ever so lightly, wanting to feel just how soft that pale skin was.

The Imperial's hand jerked from the contact, and she withdrew it quickly.

Vex looked away as a strong blush crept up her neck, her fair skin not helping to hide it at all.

"I'm going back to Astrid now, I think she'll be waiting," Noela informed the Imperial in a gentle tone.

"W—why?" Vex stammered.

Noela looked at her, confused. "Because I need to get back to work," she said, stating what she thought was obvious.

"Oh. Of course." Vex blinked and in two seconds, her expression returned to normal.

"I guess… I'll see you the next time I come here," said Noela.

"Yeah, I guess." The Imperial shrugged but didn't meet her eyes again. "I'll see you around."

Vex got up from the bench and headed back for the tavern, Noela noticing the tankard that still lay on its side on the floor.


	11. Confusion X2

**Confusion X2**

**Chapter 11: Confusion X2**

_4 Second Seed, 4E203_

The evening glow of the setting sun cast its warm and beckoning light over the forest of pines. Grinding slowly to a stop, the crunch of stones meeting her ears, Noela hopped out of the carriage. She waved a quick thanks to the driver, and he departed, the sound of horses' hooves fading into the distance.

She had instructed the carriage driver to stop on the main road; near the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, but still a fair way from the hidden entrance.

The light from the sun made it feel like she was returning home, which was in fact, the case. Though she technically did have two homes now, one with the Thieves in Riften and one here in Falkreath, she did consider the Brotherhood her true home for now—it would probably be a while since she returned to Whiterun, in any case. _Which actually makes _three_ homes_, she corrected in her mind.

Walking along the main road, she could barely remember where the turn off was that led to the Sanctuary. This was, after all, only the second time she was heading there. But then she recognised the slope that Clairvoyance had led her down last time, and within five minutes she found herself outside the Black Door.

_This feels strange_, she thought to herself. The echoey, ethereal pounding sounds and sub-bass frequencies emanating from the door of death set off her primal survival instincts as it did just a few weeks ago.

And the last time she had stood outside this door, she had not known Astrid yet, besides their initial meeting.

She wondered just what life was going to serve up next, what new adventures she was going to have once she opened that door.

Simultaneously excited and anxious, she stepped forward.

"_Silence, my brother_."

* * *

The Black Door swung open and Noela stepped forth into the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.

Closing with a heavy boom, the door cut off all sound from outside, the pervading silence pressing on Noela's eardrums—until she heard raised voices. Or at least what sounded like raised voices.

The source of noise was coming from deeper in the sanctuary, and she proceeded through the room with the map of Skyrim and down the next flight of steps.

The corridor opened up to the large, cavernous room with the waterfall, and similar to the first time she had come here, there was a group of people standing about. There was also a very tall looking crate to the right of them.

She immediately spotted Astrid, then Gabriella, Festus, Arnbjorn and Veezara. And standing in front of them, or more like, dancing about, was the source of the racket: a jester, dressed in the colours of the Dark Brotherhood.

He was a young-looking man, perhaps in his twenties, with a uniform that consisted of a red jester's hat and a spiky black adornment of leather around the chest and back areas of his outfit.

But more peculiar, was his high-pitched voice.

"But the Night Mother is mother to all!" he said, waving his arms animatedly. "It is her voice we follow! Her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely… punishment?"

The group listened in silence, then Arnbjorn said in his gruff voice, "Keep talking, little man, and we'll see who gets 'punished'".

Festus turned to Arnbjorn with a sigh. "Oh, be quiet you great, lumbering lapdog. The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil." He directed to the jester, "I for one, am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition."

The jester's face widened into a smile. "Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are. Sure to earn our Lady's favour."

Then Astrid finally spoke. "You and the Night Mother are of course welcome here, Cicero. And you will be afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper." She turned to Arnbjorn. "Understood… husband?"

Arnbjorn responded with a grunt.

"Oh yes, yes, yes!" exclaimed Cicero excitedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"But make no mistake," continued Astrid in an authoritative tone. "_I _am the leader of this Sanctuary. _My_ word is law. Are we clear on that point?"

"Oh yes, mistress," the jester replied. "Perfectly! You're the boss."

The group was dismissed and Astrid turned, having noted that Noela had arrived.

"Ah, there you are," she said in a warmer voice. "Good. I was done speaking with that muttering fool anyway. And we've got some business to discuss. Follow me."

She indicated to Noela and the mage set off after the Nord, and they arrived back in the front room.

"Take a seat," said Astrid, gesturing to the stone throne behind the table with the map.

Noela sat, and now it was just the two of them again.

Astrid leaned over the table and studied the map in front of her, Noela swallowing a lump that had arisen suddenly in her throat.

"So how was the mission?" Astrid asked, not looking up from the map. The crease on her brow indicated she was concentrating on something and so Noela didn't give too detailed a response.

"It went well. We were successful."

The Nord then looked up from the map, and her green eyes pierced Noela's blue ones. "Congratulations."

"Uh, thank you," replied the mage, feeling just a tinge bashful.

Astrid smiled and Noela subconsciously mirrored it. "I'll ask you the details of it later, but for now, I have some news for you."

Noela nodded that she was listening.

"I've got a contract for you. Your first real mission."

"That's great! What's the mission?"

"You must go to the city of Markarth, and speak with the apothecary's assistant. You'll probably find her in The Hag's Cure, when the shop is open. The girl's been running her mouth, wants an ex-lover killed. She's apparently performed the Black Sacrament. Her name is Muiri. I need you to talk to her, set up the contract, and carry it out."

"It will be done," responded Noela.

"Good. Now, since it's your first solo mission, I'll let you keep whatever Muiri pays. Just be professional, represent us well, and get the job done. Do you think you can do that?"

"No problem," nodded the mage. "I'm excited to finally get to test my assassination skills, as it were."

"You know what's funny, sister? You start off with the Dark Brotherhood and the first real mission you complete is with the Thieves Guild." Astrid shook her head with a laugh.

"Well, if it weren't for you offering me up to them that wouldn't have been the case," Noela pointed out.

"That's true," agreed Astrid. "Nevertheless, it is time to test what you learned on your training and see what results you can produce alone."

"I won't let you down."

"That's my girl."

Astrid was still leaning over the table and Noela couldn't help her mind, tired from the last day or so of travelling, to imagine Astrid leaning over _her_, as silly as it sounded.

The mage blinked from her reverie. It would be a shame that Astrid wouldn't be accompanying her this time…

"Oh and, I'll be coming along with you, at least to Markarth. I have some business to attend to there."

Noela couldn't help her mouth dropping open, before it curved up into a smile, quick as lightning. And just as quickly, confusion began to wash over her.

"So meet out at the pond at dawn tomorrow, same as last time. Any questions?"

It took Noela a second too long to reply and she uttered rather ungracefully, "Nuh uh."

"Alright then. You must be tired, so go and take a good long rest for the rest of the evening and I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Noela trudged back through the sanctuary, and headed straight for her bed. She was dead tired, and now her mind couldn't handle any more.

She tossed her robes at the foot of her bed, before climbing under the covers and tucking them under her chin.

No one else was currently in the sleeping quarters, and so at least it was peaceful, the only sound coming from Nazir down in the kitchen muttering about contracts under his breath.

She had had a couple of days to mull over everything, about her attraction to Vex and of course her prior attraction to Astrid, which, since arriving back at the Sanctuary, had seemed to scream at her like there was no tomorrow.

And speaking of tomorrow…

Why did she find it peculiar that Astrid was accompanying her _again_? Did she truly have business in Markarth?

Then Noela mentally slapped herself. She was behaving stupidly. It didn't matter what she felt, or Astrid's reasons for coming along. The fact of the matter was that she had been given her first solo mission, and she would be insane to let silly things like her feelings distract her.

The only thing she should be thinking about, was the mission. She _had _to succeed. And she certainly couldn't screw up. She had a reputation to establish and her childish infatuations weren't going to get in the way of that.

* * *

The black pond was shrouded in a layer of fog. It was strange, but Noela thought she could feel a presence coming from the mass of moving black. She shook her head, attributing the sensation to how sleepy she still felt despite having had something like twelve hours of sleep. She'd probably just slept too much.

A feeling of déjà vu arose when she heard the creak of the Black Door open and Astrid stepping out, just like had happened some weeks ago.

"Are we walking all the way to Markarth?" asked Noela, slightly weary. To be honest she was tired from all the travel recently and without so much as a break, was already dreading the days of walking to come.

Astrid shook her head. "Not this time. We've got an available horse for you, as it were." She nodded at the black pond and to Noela's surprise, through the mysterious fog a silhouette of a horse became visible.

She squinted. "What—there's a horse there!" she exclaimed.

The Nord reached the edge of the pond and as if by command, the horse trotted over and into view.

It was a hazelnut brown mare, medium sized with black eyes.

"Her name's Trigger," said Astrid, and patted the horse's mane.

Noela failed to suppress a snigger.

"I didn't name it," responded the Nord with a frown. "A gift from a client, actually."

The mage shrugged. "So Trigger's fast?"

"Quite, but—not as fast as my horse."

Astrid looked back at the lake and to Noela's surprise, again, another horse seemed to appear out of the misty depths of the air over the pond.

This time, it was a pitch black horse, with eerie, glowing red eyes.

"Shadowmere," Astrid said under her breath. "The fastest horse you'll ever find."

Shadowmere whinnied as if in response, and met eyes with the leader, an unspoken connection seeming to radiate between horse and rider.

Examining the demon-looking horse, Noela shivered just the slightest. It felt like the animal was from some other realm, an otherworldly presence seeming to emanate from the creature. If she wasn't mistaken she could've sworn Trigger sidestepped just a little further away from the fellow horse.

"Well, let's get moving," announced Astrid, hopping onto Shadowmere's back the moment he was out of the water. "I trust you know how to ride?"

Noela gave a mock look of affront. "Of course."

With a brief nod, Astrid set off with Shadowmere, at a pretty fast pace.

The mage blinked and hurriedly scrambled onto Trigger's back.

_She could've at least waited for me to get on_, Noela thought to herself as she kicked the horse into motion.

* * *

They set off at a rapid speed, Noela estimating no less than two days till they reached Markarth.

The hours passed quickly, the trees flying by as the sound of horses' hooves on dirt rang in her ears and put her into a kind of relaxed trance.

Astrid was just a little further ahead, Shadowmere indeed being the superior horse in terms of speed. Still, Noela's horse was as fast as any horse she'd ever ridden, and she was pretty happy with Trigger. Well, except it's name.

It was about midday when Astrid signalled for them to stop, and they took a lunch break.

Tying their horses to a nearby tree, they sat in a clearing not far from the road.

"Could you light a fire? Just want to warm up some soup," said Astrid, throwing a bunch of sticks and branches onto the ground.

Noela aimed a Flames spell at the pile and Astrid set a pot of soup to boil.

"So tell me more about your mission with the Thieves Guild." The Nord's green eyes met hers and in the sunlight, Noela was reminded again of Astrid's natural beauty, her blonde hair shimmering in the sun.

"It was a great success, I think. Vex had gotten injured on the previous attempt so it was supposedly difficult, but no sweat, we pulled it off."

"Vex got injured?" Astrid looked kind of concerned.

"Yes but she was completely healed by the time we went."

"Oh, you did the mission with Vex, then?"

Noela nodded. "Brynjolf and Mercer sent us both to Goldenglow Estate which was heavily guarded with mercenaries, to clear a safe and burn some beehives."

"Well, I suppose with you there the mercenaries wouldn't have stood a chance," Astrid smiled. "Precisely why I knew the Thieves would find your service of great value."

The mage simply shrugged, but didn't manage to hide the expression of smugness on her face.

"And what about Vex, did you get on with her?"

At that moment the pot of soup was bubbling and Astrid removed it from the fire. She reached into her bag and grabbed a spoon, and then another. "Here," she said, holding out the spoon to Noela. "We can share."

She scooted a little closer to the mage and placed the small pot between them, and they both began to drink.

It was a hearty vegetable soup, and Noela, despite having brought her own lunch, felt somewhat honoured that the other woman was sharing her food with her. It hadn't happened before during their previous journey together.

"So?" Astrid began again. "You haven't answered my question."

"Oh," apologised Noela as she slurped her soup. "What was the question? Oh yeah, Vex," recalled the mage. "We got off to a pretty bad start but we're closer to buddies now," Noela summarised. "At least I think we are."

"A bad start?"

Noela wondered why Astrid was interested in this. "We exchanged a few fists is all. I fell into the lake, she got a cut, nothing serious."

"Why in the world were you two fighting?"

"She kept referring to me as a newbie so it got on my nerves."

"Oh, _you_ started it?" the Nord asked in surprise.

"No way! I don't start trouble—usually. I guess I didn't exactly behave, or know my place. _But_ she didn't have to disrespect me to begin with."

Astrid scratched her head. "Vex is sometimes an enigma, too. I do wonder what set her off, she was perfectly fine the night before."

"Oh right, I forget that you're friends," said Noela. "It was probably because I was assigned to do the mission with her, and me being new, didn't exactly sit well in a mission she failed at previously."

"I see. Well, that makes sense. But you're on good terms with her now?"

"Maybe, I don't really know," shrugged the mage. "But at least she's not glaring at me every few seconds now and we actually managed to have a chat before I left."

"She isn't the easiest to befriend, but she is damn loyal," added Astrid. "Especially when it comes to serving her Guild."

"I actually think she's soft, you know, under that spiky exterior. Like a shell of protection she puts up against the world, or something, I don't know. Just a feeling I get."

The Nord peered closely at her, not saying anything for a moment. Then she said, "You could well be right."

"But aren't you her friend?"

"Yeah—so?" asked the Nord with a frown.

"You don't know?"

"What?"

"What Vex is really like," finished Noela.

Astrid shrugged. "I don't think too much about it. Anyway, Noela, why the sudden interest in Vex? Is she not just a new acquaintance?"

"Eh, guess I'm just curious about her. She _is_ sort of up my alley," Noela admitted.

The Nord spat the soup out of her mouth. "What? _You're_ interested in Vex?"

Suddenly Noela felt like she shouldn't have said anything. Why did she bring these things up out of the blue anyway? She felt her cheeks redden. "Maybe…" she said quietly.

Astrid was staring at her with a look of shock and Noela could feel her expression morphing into a frown. What was the big deal, anyway?

"What?" asked Noela. "You know I like women. She's exactly my type."

The leader shook her head and rearranged her features. "No, I was just surprised. Of course—but, what _is_ your type?" she asked with curiosity.

Noela glanced up at the clouds, thinking. "Strong, intelligent, tough…" She couldn't think of anything else really.

"Grumpy?"

The mage frowned. "No—not really. Oh and, ambitious. Got to love that."

"You're just describing yourself," pointed out Astrid.

"What—oh, wait a minute…"

The Nord burst into laughter.

It was like the sound of sunshine, and well, her golden blonde hair was like the visible aspect of it. Still, the 'angel of death' wouldn't have been more apt of a name for this woman who had taken a piece of her heart. A heart that, was pretty much torn into more than two pieces at the moment.

And confusion settled into her brain once again.


	12. Night in a Cave

**Night in a Cave**

**Chapter 12: Night in a Cave**

They untied their horses and jumped into their saddles. Astrid was just about to set Shadowmere into action when she paused, turned to Noela and said, "You're going to have to compete with Delvin, I'm afraid. He's been after Vex for years."

Shadowmere sprinted off again, kicking up a lot of dust and Noela coughed in disgruntlement before her own horse took off.

It was dusk and they had to find a spot to camp for the night. They were probably about halfway to Markarth by now, and Noela estimated that at the speedy rate they were going, they'd be in the westernmost city of Skyrim by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

Jumping off their horses, the assassins walked through the forest in search of some shelter, or at least a suitable clearing. There was a rock wall that they came across and then, they discovered an entrance to what looked like a small cave.

"This might be promising," said Astrid. "Let's check it out. Keep watch, Shadowmere," she directed at the midnight-black horse. "Tie yours up, Noela. Don't want it running off now."

Noela tied Trigger to a tree just outside the cave, and wondered why Shadowmere was allowed to roam free before ducking into the cave after Astrid.

The Nord had lit a torch, and they both crouched into sneak position, Noela wary that anything could be lurking ahead in the dark.

They were surprised to find a very shallow cave, a brief passageway connecting the entrance to one main cavern, which was the equivalent of a small room. There was evidence of a fire pit in the centre of the room, but other than that, it appeared the cave had not been occupied for quite some time.

"It's perfect for the night," said Astrid, and they decided to set up camp.

* * *

Astrid had tasked Noela with preparing dinner with some ingredients they had brought along, the Nord herself tending to the horses outside, giving them some food or else just keeping them company while Noela attempted to cook up something delicious for the both of them.

With the fire going and the temperature warming up in the small cave, Noela felt that the place offered some kind of a romantic vibe that was reminiscent of the night they had shared a bed together, back in Dawnstar. That felt like ages ago, and even the thought of it was setting butterflies in Noela's belly.

She chopped up some potatoes, a bit of rabbit haunch and some leeks—that was the only meat they had on them, and cooked them over the campfire pit. Adding a pinch of salt, she turned to her bag and decided she might as well unwrap her bed roll.

Astrid returned just as dinner was done. "Perfect timing," yawned Noela, who had been lounging on top of her bed roll waiting for the food to cook. "Wait, I'll serve."

The Nord sat on a rock that was beside the fire and Noela separated the meat and the veggies onto two separate plates.

"Here you go ma'am, dinner is served," said Noela, holding out the plate to the leader with both hands.

"Pft, quit that," said Astrid, taking the food. "As much as I do like being served, this doesn't feel right."

Noela sat on the ground beside her, placing her own plate on the floor and eating off it with a fork. "And why not? You're the leader of the Dark Brotherhood."

Astrid was busy chewing on her food. Then she said, "Ordinarily I couldn't care less, but in your case, I don't know. I think we're closer than that now, strange as it may sound, you being the newest member and all. I suppose due to the extended time travelling together, we were bound to grow close."

"Aw, so in plain language, you're trying to say I'm your friend," Noela chirped in a playful manner.

"I think you have a tendency to blur lines with authority, just so you know. But yes, I guess I _am_ saying that."

"Well, I'm honoured, sister," spoke Noela from her heart. "I couldn't think of another leader I would rather serve."

The Nord scrutinised her like she wasn't sure if Noela was being serious.

"No, really!" exclaimed Noela at Astrid's dubious expression.

"Not Brynjolf, not Mercer, not the Thieves Guild?"

"Astrid, I would never turn my back on you," pledged the mage. "I mean it a hundred percent."

"So your loyalty lies with the Dark Brotherhood?"

"Of course," Noela nodded adamantly.

"You would never leave the Brotherhood for the Thieves Guild?"

The mage shook her head firmly. "Never."

"What, even if you got involved with Vex?"

Noela stopped chewing her food. "What in the name of the Gods does that have to do with _anything_ we're talking about?"

The leader was a silent for a minute, then she shrugged. "I don't know, let's say, hypothetically, you both got together, and suddenly now you're asking me for time off every week to go and work in Riften. It matters, Noela."

Noela could feel herself gaping. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Nothing has happened! You're just being paranoid, Astrid. I won't leave. Nothing's happening between me and Vex. In fact we're not even friends! And besides, she's probably into men anyway. And Delvin's there, like you said."

And now the thought of Delvin was leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

"You'd be very surprised, Noela. And Delvin? Ha, he hasn't got a chance."

"Oh? And why is that?" Noela felt a sigh of relief wash over her though.

Astrid finished the last of her food. "Because Vex is young and pretty, and he's—not," she shrugged, then gave a laugh.

"Anyway, don't worry," said Noela. "I have no plans to uh, _pursue_, Vex. So the issue of me leaving the Brotherhood will not arise, for sure."

The Nord gave a hard look. "Good. Things are already complicated, as they are."

"But I mean…" continued the mage despite herself. "Even if there _was_ anything going on, _not like there is_, but, hypothetically… it wouldn't change anything. _You're _the one I want to serve. _You're _the one I want to…" Noela trailed off, almost admitting her deepest thoughts. _You're the one I want to be near_. She finished in her head.

But was that true, though? Now that she liked _both_ of them, if she had to pick one…

Astrid's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I'm the one you want to what?"

Noela looked up awkwardly. She could feel her face completely heating up. "The fire's kind of hot," she said dumbly, sure the Nord wasn't going to buy it.

"Strong, intelligent, tough, ambitious," said the leader, ticking the traits off on her fingers. "Hmm. I can think of another candidate for your criteria."

The firelight cast dark shadows across the Nord's face. She was simultaneously frightening, and simultaneously beautiful. Noela felt like her heart was going to burst. Too much infatuation, for two people, over too many days. She didn't know how much more she could take.

"I can, too," said Noela.

"I'm the one you want to what?" Astrid repeated. "Finish it, sister."

The burning look in her green eyes, like she was dying to know, also struck Noela as odd.

"You're the one I want to…" the mage gulped. How was she going to answer this? Be near? Serve forever? Spend time with? _Fuck_?

Noela felt like the pressure was too much, and the cave was too warm. She felt faint.

"Fuck this," Noela swore. She _had _to make a move, she couldn't take it any more! But—said the little voice in her head. _You'll risk your job, your new career. This could even cost you your life! Don't play with death!_

"Are you done with your dinner?"

Noela had to blink herself out of her meltdown. "What?"

"If you've finished eating, let's take it to the bed roll."

The mage had to blink again. _What did she just say?_

When she felt a finger lift her chin up, she couldn't focus clearly on the green eyes that were staring into hers.

"I think you and I both know… that we need to get this out of our systems. So, let's just get this over with," said the Nord.

* * *

"I've been dying to know… do you like it gentle, or do you like it rough?"

Astrid dragged her by the hand to the bed roll that Noela had laid out before the meal, and suddenly flung her onto it.

Noela fell onto the sleeping bag, dazed. Her mind was spinning, she couldn't wrap her head around the current situation. She looked up at the Nord who had a strange glint in her eye, and for all that was weird today, _right now_ was definitely the weirdest.

"What are you doing?" asked the mage absentmindedly as the Nord dropped onto the bag beside her.

"What does it look like, sister?" Astrid murmured before closing the gap between them.

Noela could feel her heart pounding at an insane speed, and then the other woman's lips, with surprising gentleness, pressing themselves against hers.

But her aching hunger, her longing for this woman over almost a month, wouldn't have it this slow. Noela pressed back, much more aggressively, and Astrid seemed to get the point.

The older woman matched her intensity as the kiss deepened, and Noela noticed Astrid's lips felt just like she had imagined. Soft and smooth, with a hint of the outdoors, the taste of the forest air. This woman smelled and tasted like nature itself.

Quickly, Noela was getting annoyed by the armour that blocked her access from the woman's body, and began to undo the ties and the straps.

Astrid broke away for a breath. "Let's get that ridiculous hood off, I never get to see your hair."

Noela's robes came off much quicker and she was now glad that the fire was still burning. Without her clothes on, it was a lot colder. But the cave was still cosy.

"By the Gods this armour is hard to take off," Noela said exasperatedly, and Astrid chuckled. The Nord stayed still as the mage managed to get the top off, and she could feel Astrid's fingers running through her hair.

"Feels just as good as it looks. I wish you'd not wear your hood," said the blonde.

As Noela reached the cotton undershirt that Astrid had on beneath the armour, she brushed the skin of her shoulder, and sighed. The other woman peered at her.

"You've still got the pants to do," she stated.

The mage got those off quickly enough and once again, they were both in their smallclothes.

At once, the Nord didn't miss a beat and she immediately pulled Noela in for another kiss, and this time her hands roamed the mage's body, from her face to her back and down to her butt. Noela ran her hands through the Nord's beautifully blonde hair, her heart fluttering fast and happily in her ribcage.

It was when Astrid felt up her chest that Noela knew this was getting serious. She couldn't wait either and attempted to take off the Nord's underpants, but the other woman grabbed both her wrists. She shook her head. "Not yet."

Confused, and feeling like she had a bit of power taken from her, Noela got to work. She stripped the last of the garments off her own body and Astrid followed suit with her top.

"Hey, that's not fair," said Noela. "Get those panties off."

Astrid didn't reply, her eyes too busy roaming the younger woman's body. Noela pulled her in and kissed her neck.

"You're freaking beautiful," she whispered to her leader. She trailed kisses down from her neck and to her chest, feeling Astrid's breathing increase in speed. She got to her chest, and took the woman's right nipple into her mouth, sucking it delicately before drawing circles around it with her tongue.

"By Sithis," the woman moaned. Noela smirked, and gave the other one equal treatment. She dipped her hand down to between Astrid's legs, and felt some wetness on her underwear. Again, the Nord redirected her hand elsewhere.

Noela frowned. "Come on, what's the deal?" she muttered.

Astrid was lying on her back, and sat up. "Let's reverse this," she said, and leaned over Noela, pushing her to the ground. The bed roll was a little small in reality and the mage felt her head in the dirt. Astrid grabbed Noela's discarded robes which were nearby and placed them under the mage's head. All the while, Noela couldn't help but stare at the woman's chest.

She smiled as Astrid came back down on top of her, her breasts brushing against Noela's own, and briefly, her mind landed on Lydia, and she remembered how she had always loved this about being intimate with another woman.

There was truth that women liked bodily contact, and Astrid was no exception. It seemed she wanted to feel as close to Noela as possible, maximising skin contact whenever she had the chance.

Noela was brought out of her thoughts with a loud gasp as Astrid bit on her nipple, and despite not liking being taken by surprise like that, Noela let it slide. The Nord kissed down from her stomach, and began to spread the mage's legs.

Suddenly, Noela too, felt like she wanted some sort of privacy, from her most vulnerable place, but her body disagreed. Astrid brushed a hand between her legs. "Looks like you're ready," she said with a grin.

_I can't believe this is really happening_, Noela thought and then she made the loudest gasp yet as the Nord's tongue stroked against her folds. Quickly, it landed on her clit, and the other woman began to eat her out, rather hungrily at that, and Noela tried to suppress the moans that she didn't want to express.

"Ah… not too… ah," she heard herself gasping.

The licking stopped. "Not too what?" asked Astrid slyly.

The sight of Astrid between her legs made her want to pass out with some elated sort of happiness. "Not too slow," Noela corrected, and grinned as the Nord began to perform a more rigorous form of licking. Not a minute later, the mage was not expecting it when she felt Astrid's fingers enter her, the familiar sound of slick wetness filling the air.

"You're super wet," commented the Nord as she moved two fingers inside of her. "As I expected. I knew you'd be totally wet for me," she said smugly.

"Too much talk…sister," Noela managed to say. "Faster, please."

Astrid obliged and began to pump faster, and continued to do so as she leaned back over Noela to kiss her. She felt the Nord playing with her right breast with her left hand, giving it a few good squeezes as Noela tasted her own juices on the other woman's lips. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that this was all happening.

She felt her clitoris being stimulated again by the woman's thumb, her hand seeming to be pretty experienced with this and briefly, with half a conscious mind, Noela wondered if Astrid _had_ had experience with women before. From the way she was performing, Noela thought she probably did.

As the motions of Astrid's hand continued at a steady rhythm, the woman kissing her multiple times throughout, Noela felt the build up from deep within her core. "I think I'm almost—" she announced, as her breathing became progressively more erratic.

"Do you want it harder?" the blonde whispered in her ear. "No… I know this is perfect…"

Then she suddenly stopped. Noela's head snapped to hers. "Don't be cruel," the mage said warningly.

"I'm just kidding," said the Nord playfully and immediately resumed her fingerwork. Then she dipped back down and began teasing Noela's clit again with her tongue whilst still pumping fast and within the next minute Noela could hear herself calling Astrid's name as she finally came.

The older woman collapsed. "By Sithis, I'm tired."

"Oh, not yet you're not," said Noela, and flipped the Nord onto her back. "Get ready to receive, dear _mistress_."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "That sounds bloody lame. Just get on with it."

"So much for romance," muttered Noela.

Finally, Astrid let her remove the underpants, and Noela got to work. She was _not_ going to disappoint.

Noela dove in between the woman's legs and ate like a hungry wolf, lapping at the woman's juices like it was the most tasty meal she'd ever had. Astrid tasted, well, exactly like her scent. She smelled and tasted like red mountain flowers. Noela liked to smell them, sure, but eating flowers? It was probably an acquired taste.

Still, she gave it her all, and the woman's squirms and jolts were all she needed to know that it was working. Noela took a break, and kissed Astrid, liking the way she had the woman pinned to the ground, like she had some power over her. This beautiful, intelligent woman, who she was sure… she was now in love with.

Astrid frowned at her when she realised Noela had stopped. "Sorry," apologised the mage. She wanted to blurt that she was in love with her but, that was probably going to ruin the moment, weird as that sounded.

Noela began licking at the woman's folds again, dipping her tongue deep into the warm and wet, the fragrance totally enveloping her senses and her mind shut off everything else from the world.

The woman was so wet now that Noela felt a trickle of liquid rolling down her own neck—she was sure her face was sopping wet too, and then, she dipped a finger into the wetness. Astrid gasped from beneath her and Noela knew that she was more than ready. She pushed in three fingers, slowly, so that the Nord could feel it well and proper, and Noela watched her expression with excessive interest.

There was a certain sense of power she felt over the woman, something that had not happened with anyone else she had ever slept with.

"By the Gods just get on with it, Noela," said Astrid with some form of yearning.

Noela wanted to make her beg, to make her plead her name… but perhaps that was for another time. For now, she just wanted to please her leader.

The mage began to pump her fingers, first slowly, to gauge what Astrid liked. She returned to eating her out at the same time and the woman's body responded. Gradually, Noela increased the speed, and kept going, and going, then increasing yet again.

As the minutes passed it began to occur to her that Astrid was one to last a while, and whether that was a good or bad thing, with her experience or whatever, Noela tried not to think about anyone else. About Arnbjorn.

It was time to improvise. Astrid, like her, liked it hard, and so she kept pace, but then had a brilliant idea. She hadn't tried this with anyone else before, but it was maybe worth a shot.

The woman was still extremely wet, and the mage decided to introduce the slightest bit of shock with her magic. Just a tinge of electricity, something that her bare fingers could easily do from within. But, it had to be utterly controlled. She could easily injure her.

Noela decided to give a heads up. "Astrid, you're going to love this," she announced, and without waiting for the Nord to respond she released the tiniest bit of magicka from her body, and directed it into her fingers.

With her tongue on the woman's clit, she let the electricity pass through to her fingertips and slowly began to release a very weak Sparks spell, so weak that—the woman didn't even feel it.

Noela released just a little bit more and the third attempt was just the right amount, and the mage continued to eat and lick as the Nord's hips jolted and she buckled against Noela's face and hand in a violent climax. The mage stopped the flow of magicka and grinned into the woman's privates, lapping up the remaining juice.

Then she wiped her face with a nearby piece of underclothing and moved in, kissing Astrid again and wrapping her arms around her.

The Nord's breathing was slowly returning to normal. A few minutes of silence passed, and Noela had never felt so content. At least, she couldn't remember the last time she had ever felt this way.

Finally Astrid said, "What in the name of Sithis was that?"

"What do you mean?" teased Noela.

"What you did at the end."

"Just used a bit of magic. My _secret_ _technique_, if you will."

"You always use that on people?"

Noela smiled, "Only on those who deserve it."

Astrid wormed her way out of Noela's embrace. "This feels incredibly strange. We don't love each other, and I've never slept with anyone within the Brotherhood, except for my husband, of course."

"Oh." A feeling of dread sunk into Noela. "I forgot that he was your husband. Oops. So am I going to be in trouble?"

"Huh," said Astrid. "You 'conveniently' forgot, I bet. You're a lot more sly than you let on, dear sister."

"No, I uh, actually _did_ forget," Noela said honestly. "What with all the talk about the Thieves Guild and the Brotherhood and Vex…"

The blonde gave a wide smile. "And I got you first, just so you know. Before the Thieves, before Vex."

Noela raised her eyebrows. "Don't tell me that's why you slept with me. To lay _claim_ to me? Like a piece of property?"

The brief silence before her answer was enough to give it away. "Of course not. I _wanted_ you, from the moment I met you. As in, not just for the Brotherhood. I admit I was attracted to you as soon as I met you. I dragged you from Windhelm to the Abandoned Shack, remember."

"Hm, I hope you're not lying to me," said Noela truthfully. "Whatever, because I wanted to have sex with you from the moment I met you too, so it's done. We both won. I trust you didn't violate my body when you transported me to the shack?"

"No, I didn't, I'm not into that kind of thing," responded Astrid. "But if I had would you have minded?"

"Uh, probably not," shrugged Noela. "Only because it's _you_ though." _Because I do fucking love you_, she wanted to add, but knew that the feeling wasn't mutual. "So what now?"

Astrid raised a brow. "I don't know what you expect, but this was a one-off thing. As I said, I had to get it out of my system, as you were driving me mad with desire."

"Alright. So, you used me, we're done, and we go back to how things were, pretend it never happened?"

The Nord sighed. "My dear, we used each other. You wanted me just as much as I've wanted you, I've known it for a while."

"And so there are no feelings?"

Astrid looked into her eyes. "What feelings? I'm in love with my husband, and I don't know about you, but I hope it's the same."

"You love your husband and you just cheated on him," stated Noela. "That doesn't make any sense to me."

The leader rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. I happen to have an agreement with Arnbjorn that I'm allowed to sleep with other women, as I please. Nonetheless, the Dark Brotherhood _must not_ find out that we did this, and I imagine you can foresee the consequences."

"No," said Noela, beginning to feel angry. "What _are _the consequences? You kick me out, maybe even kill me?"

"Oh, don't be dramatic. When I said I don't have feelings for you, I mean romantically. You're still my friend, and a valuable member of my family. Killing you would not benefit us in the slightest."

"That's just great," said Noela. "You want my loyalty, yet I'm nothing but a useful body to you. Not for what we just did, but, I mean, for your organisation."

Astrid sat up. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to get at here, sister, but what did you expect? You _know_ I'm married, you know that the Dark Brotherhood is my priority—I don't understand your reaction right now."

The mage answered bitterly. "No, you're right. I did know you're married and I didn't expect anything. In fact, I didn't know you desired me in this way until less than an hour ago, so there's nothing to complain about. Except the fact that you sound like I'm some trophy you just wanted to win. But that's fine, it's probably one of the reasons I fell for you anyway… Ambition…"

The Nord then came in and wrapped her arms around her, and the feel of her warm flesh against Noela's own made her heart well up this time not in happiness, but in pain.

"Fuck, it hurts. I'm such an idiot." Noela shook her head.

The older woman seemed to come to her senses, and released her, the sudden cold enveloping Noela and magnifying the feeling of disappointment that lay heavily in her chest.

"Sorry," said Astrid. "But you should know it can't work."

"I don't see how we can pretend this never happened," said the mage. "Things'll be darn awkward from now on."

"We don't have to pretend it never happened, just make sure no one finds out about it. It wouldn't do well with rumours circulating within the family. I'm sure you understand."

"Right—even more reason for me to go to the Thieves. I don't think you're doing too well in convincing me to stay," said Noela, not that she actually meant it.

Astrid's jaw clenched and she grabbed Noela, this time pinning her to the ground, hard.

Noela smirked darkly, "So you up for round two, already?"

The Nord maintained her look of seriousness. "You gave your word, Noela. You _promised_ you would serve the Dark Brotherhood. If you betray me, or attempt to leave…"

"You wouldn't be able to stop me, Astrid," answered Noela. Then she sighed, "But as I said, I have feelings for you, so I won't leave. And I prefer assassinating to thieving, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Indeed," said the older woman, her hands still grasping Noela's which were pinned to the ground above her head.

"And this position is actually turning me on, so if you don't want another round, please stop."

Astrid let go of her. "For God's sake. Control yourself, sister."

Noela watched as she went to her bag and took out her own bed roll.

"As much as I'm angry at you right now I wouldn't mind you in my bed roll," said the mage.

"I'm too tired for another round," stated the Nord.

"That's fine, just—let's enjoy the time while we have it."

Rolling her eyes, Astrid returned to her. Noela unzipped the bed roll, and slipped into the bag. Astrid tucked herself in after her, and rezipped the side.

Without a word, the Nord spooned up against her back. Then her arms found their way around Noela's waist. The mage spun around in place and embraced the woman's head, and she smiled as Astrid buried her face within her chest.

If it was only for a night, it was still worth it.

She only hoped the sting of tomorrow would be bearable.


End file.
